


An Age Old Vendetta

by AyraBelle



Series: Wizarding World [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Harry Potter Next Generation, Scorpius's first year at Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2018-12-19 03:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 65,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11888862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AyraBelle/pseuds/AyraBelle
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy is excited to start his Hogwarts career, but when he makes a Muggle-born friend before the term even starts and turns out to be more lion-like than he ever imagined his first year promises to be nothing like what his parents prepared him for.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, friend!  
> This is the first Harry Potter story I ever wrote, and I've been writing / rewriting it for 10 years now. I started it when all we had to go on was 'Nineteen Years Later...' and a hand-drawn family tree, so anything that has been revealed since then may or may not be incorporated. Keep that in mind as you read.

About twenty-five miles southeast of Canterbury in Kent, England, is a small town called Cranbrook. The people who live in this town are a very close-knit community. That is, except for the family in The Manor.

They were of a very odd sort. Rarely seen, the residents of The Manor were the basis of many rumours throughout the town. Many of the rumours say that the inhabitants were criminals of some kind and in hiding. Others think that they died long ago and the only things that still live there are merely ghosts. Even others claim that they are a family of vampires – only coming out at night. Daring teens try to venture past the bordering walls; some have even touched the ground inside. Little children who have been naughty are threatened with being sent to The Manor. No one has been inside the buildings, though.

One day in July, a girl and her friend were taking a walk and happened to pass The Manor.

‘Ugh,’ Alexandria sighed. ‘That old place is so creepy.’

Madison nodded firmly. Both girls were sixteen, and therefore thoroughly knowledgeable of all the town gossip. The Manor was often talked about, but the girls never tired of it. ‘I heard that Jack went up there last night,’ she said.

‘What did he see?’

‘Well, he climbed the wall and looked into a window and then,’ she paused for dramatic effect, ‘he can’t remember! He looked into the window but can’t remember what was inside or how he got back into town.’

Alexandria shuddered, but tried to hide it. ‘My parents say that he’s just trying to get attention. They say that it’s been abandoned since World War Two.’

‘Then how come we all see the lights turn on inside?’ Madison defended Jack, trying and failing to hide her strong infatuation with the boy. ‘He’s not the type of guy to make something up.’

Alexandria smirked. ‘Oh, sure. And how would you know that?’

Madison blushed crimson. ‘Well, if you’re so certain, why don’t you go up there now?’

Alexandria wrinkled her nose. ‘No way. I’d probably fall and ruin my brand new dress.’ She twirled to emphasise why she simply couldn’t take that risk.

‘William would do it,’ Madison said shrewdly.

It was Alexandria’s turn to try and fail to hide a strong infatuation. ‘Well, he is almost eighteen,’ she said, as though that would explain everything.

‘But I’m sure he’d be so impressed if someone would just try it before him,’ Madison continued, shoving Alexandria towards the wrought-iron gates.

‘No!’ Alexandria shrieked, though she was laughing. ‘You do it, I’m sure Jack would appreciate someone validating his story.’

Madison skirted out of the way of Alexandria’s shove and stuck out her tongue. ‘He doesn’t need it. In fact, I’m going to go see if he’s in town now.’

‘William might be there too,’ Alexandria said, and they both took off back to town, giggling between themselves like the best friends that they were and always would be.

Meanwhile, inside The Manor, the Malfoy family was enjoying the sunny afternoon in the den of their home, oblivious to the chatter outside their gates, when they heard the unmistakable sound of an owl flying past the window.

‘Go and collect that please,’ Draco asked his son.

Scorpius obediently rose and walked to the door. When he opened it, a tawny barn owl sat on the porch, a letter attached to its leg. Scorpius relieved the owl of its burden and saw his own name spelled out in emerald ink.

 _Scorpius Malfoy_  
_Third Chair from the Door_  
_Sitting Room_  
_Malfoy Manor_  
_Kent_  
_England_

As Scorpius walked back towards the den, he flipped over the envelope and recognised the Hogwarts crest. He cracked it open as he returned into the room.

‘What do you have there?’ Astoria, his mother, asked.

‘I think it’s my Hogwarts letter,’ Scorpius replied.

Sure enough, it was.

‘Congratulations, son,’ his father smiled, clapping Scorpius on the back. His mother gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. Scorpius listened as his parents reminisced about their days at Hogwarts. He was excited to be following in their footsteps, but he couldn’t help but worry about Houses. His father always spoke of Slytherin with such reverence, and Scorpius knew that his parents met in school so he knew that his mother had been in Slytherin as well. What would they think if he was Sorted somewhere else? He didn’t want to spend the rest of his summer fretting, so he decided to put off the worry until September first… or maybe the end of August.

\---

Scorpius’s mother took him to Diagon Alley in late August to get his school supplies. Once they got his wand (twelve inches willow with a dragon heartstring core), his mother left him in Madam Malkin’s to get sized while she went to Flourish and Blotts and the apothecary to collect his other supplies.

While he was waiting, a rather cute girl about his age came in with her mum. She had long brown hair and bright green eyes. The interesting part was how she seemed to be made of pink and glitter – everything she was wearing down to some sort of wire contraption on her teeth was a stunning shade of pink. Scorpius had to blink for a moment before his eyes could get used to it.

‘Hi,’ her mum greeted Scorpius. ‘Are you going to Hogwarts? So is my daughter here.’ She beamed at the girl. The daughter in question looked embarrassed at being spoken for, adding pink cheeks to the rest of her outfit.

‘Yes, ma’am,’ Scorpius replied, then turned to the girl and held out his hand. ‘I’m Scorpius. What’s your name?’

The woman did the familiar double take at Scorpius’s name (‘Scorpius? Where did that name come from?’), but he ignored her. The girl, on the other hand, didn’t think twice. Scorpius did see an interesting spark of curiosity in her eyes, but she took his hand, casual as anything, and introduced herself. ‘I’m Elizabeth, but most people call me Liza.’

‘Nice to meet you, Liza.’ Scorpius smiled as they shook hands.

‘Nice to meet you too, Scorpius.’ Liza smiled back. ‘Are you a wizard?’ she asked, that spark of curiosity back in her eyes.

‘Not yet,’ he replied, ‘but at Hogwarts I’ll learn to be a wizard!’

Liza looked thrilled, but before either of them could continue, it was Scorpius’s turn to get his robes.

‘See you on the train,’ Scorpius called as he walked over to Madam Malkin. Liza waved in return. Scorpius was glad to meet someone so that he might not be alone on the train ride to Hogwarts.

Once Scorpius was finished, he went outside to find his mother waiting for him. She had bought his books, Potions supplies and a brown owl. He was really excited at having his own owl and decided to name it Merlin.

Once they had both stepped out of the fireplace at their home, Scorpius took his new things to his room where he had to cautiously pick his way around the various items strewn on the floor. These included, but were not limited to, papers, toy wands, a toy broomstick and his trunk. He then threw the books and Potions supplies carelessly onto the bed. The cage with Merlin he placed upon his neat desk and let him out the window to hunt. Leaning against the windowsill, he watched Merlin fly away for a moment before turning back to the pile of parcels on his bed in an attempt to organise them before dinner.

\---

Later that night, Scorpius went down to the kitchen to get a late snack. As he reached for the handle, he heard his father’s voice through the door.

‘Pure-blood! He shouldn’t have to associate with filth like that.’

Scorpius quickly backed away from the door – he knew what was going on now. Liza must be Muggle-born. His father had never been obvious about it, but Scorpius knew that his father talking thought pure-bloods were better than Muggle-borns. Scorpius never understood why it mattered so much. After all, Hermione Weasley was the one who discovered the Siccus Spell and helped Harry Potter defeat Lord Voldemort, and wasn’t she Muggle-born?

Scorpius returned to his room, a fresh worry going through is mind. _What if he wasn’t Sorted into Slytherin? What would his parents say?_

When he reached his room, he found that Merlin had returned along with a new snowy owl, a letter attached to its leg. He relieved the owl of its burden, but it didn’t fly away.

He figured it must be waiting for a reply, so he opened up the letter to find out.

 _Scorpius,_  
_Hey! How do you like my owl? Her name’s Evelyn._  
_Okay, I have a question - where’s Platform Nine and Three Quarters? My train ticket says that the Hogwarts Express leaves from there, but I’ve been to King’s Cross and they only have Platforms Nine and Ten, no Nine and Three Quarters. Someone explained this to me when they delivered my letter, but I can’t remember. Anyway, you’re the only magical person I know, so I thought I’d ask you. Please send back your answer with Evelyn._  
_Thanks!_  
_Liza Jacobs_

Scorpius didn’t want to ruin the letter filled with Liza’s neat handwriting with his messy scrawl, so he took a quill and fresh piece of parchment out to write his reply, recalling what his father had told him.

 _Liza,_  
_My father says that to get to Platform Nine and Three Quarters you need to walk straight through the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten. And my mother says that it’s best to take it at something of a run if you’re nervous. I’ll see you next week._  
_Scorpius_

He tied the note to the snowy owl’s leg, and it took off into the twilight sky.

\---

That year, September first fell on a Friday. As the Malfoy family stood on the platform, Scorpius watched the other families looking happy together, chatting away, and Scorpius envied them. Malfoy Manor was a fairly remote location; the closest towns were Muggle towns. His father wasn’t exactly the most hospitable man either, so they rarely had house guests. Of those rare times, only once had been there a guest who was Scorpius’s age. The result of this lifestyle was that the Malfoys were standing on the platform by themselves, and Scorpius had no friends to talk to.

Soon enough, it was time to leave.

‘Bye Mother, bye Father.’ Scorpius hugged his mother and father.

‘Be sure to write us as soon as you get to your common room tonight.’ His mother kissed his forehead.

‘I will. Bye!’ Scorpius called, hopping on the train and waving until they turned a bend and the platform disappeared.

‘Hey, Scorpius, wanna find a compartment?’ Liza appeared next to him. Her face was bright with excitement and she had already changed into her school robes. Scorpius noticed that she still managed to incorporate some of the sparkly pink with a bow in her hair.

‘Sure.’ He smiled, deciding to not judge like his father and just see what happened.


	2. Two

Once they had settled into a compartment Scorpius taught Liza how to play Exploding Snap. Ten spectacular losses (on her part) later, the lunch trolley came around and they both bought some snacks to share. Afterwards, they talked about Hogwarts.

Liza started off by asking multiple questions about Hogwarts, mostly for clarification of something she read and didn’t quite understand. Scorpius had to explain, in as few words as possible, that his father had been away a lot that summer and so he hadn’t really learned all that much either.

‘What are the Houses again? I remember reading about them, but I can’t think of them all right now,’ Liza asked through a mouthful of liquorice wand. She had an odd expression on her face that Scorpius couldn’t quite place.

‘There’s Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin.’

‘Didn’t Voldemort come from Slytherin? And Harry Potter was in Gryffindor. I hope I don’t get put in a bad house.’

Scorpius realised then what the look was. It was a mixture of worry and fear. He remembered his father’s words and remained silent. Liza kept talking but she didn’t need him to respond. She seemed to be a nervous talker, so nothing of importance was said for a little while because they were both lost in their own thoughts.

Scorpius was the one to start a normal conversation again. ‘So, what’s your family like?’

Liza grinned. ‘I have a crazy family.’ She proceeded to describe her various relations and after listing all of her fifteen cousins she had to pause for breath.

Scorpius whistled in admiration. ‘Wow. Family reunions must’ve been fun.’

Liza’s face lit up. ‘Oh yeah. We all get together every summer and Christmas.’

Scorpius smiled. If only…

‘So what about you?’ Liza looked at him questioningly. ‘What’s your family like?’

‘Well,’ Scorpius shifted uncomfortably and couldn’t quite meet her gaze. ‘My father’s an only child, and so am I. My mother’s family moved to America so we don’t see them very often. My father has a job that keeps him on the move all the time, so he’s not really around all that much.’

Liza looked at him with pity, ‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s okay.’ Scorpius still couldn’t meet her eyes so he looked out the window.

‘Oh, look! Do you mind if I let them in?’ Liza jumped up and went to the door. Scorpius shrugged and turned to see who was there. Two boys and girl walked into their compartment. The girl and the older boy both had red hair, while the younger boy had untidy black hair. Scorpius immediately knew who they were and felt his stomach drop.

‘Scorpius, these are some people I met on the platform.’ Liza introduced them all. ‘This is Al,’ she nodded to the black haired boy, ‘Rose,’ the redhead girl, ‘and Fred,’ the older boy. ‘Guys, this is my friend Scorpius.’

None of the newcomers reacted to his name, it seemed they either didn’t know who his father was or were pretending not to care, for which Scorpius was grateful.

‘Hi everyone.’

‘You lot should change into your robes. We’ll be getting close now,’ Fred suggested before spotting another friend and leaving the compartment.

The rest of the train ride was spent discussing Hogwarts and the Houses. All four were first years, so they were filled with a mixture of nervousness and excitement as the train slowed and an announcement filled the train.

‘Please leave your belongings on the train. They will be taken up to the castle separately.’

Al led the way off the train. In the bustle of students, the four lost each other, but soon a booming voice called out ‘Firs’ years this way, firs’ years over here!’

Once Scorpius was able to make it to the source of the voice, he looked up in shock. A giant man was standing there, swinging a lantern.

‘Scorpius!’ He heard Liza’s voice and turned to find Liza standing with Al and Rose. He made his way over to them as the giant man called out a greeting to Al and Rose. Liza told Scorpius that the man was called Hagrid, according to the other two.

‘All righ’, everyone in a boat, an’ no more ’n four to a boat.’ Scorpius, Al, Rose, and Liza claimed a boat for themselves. Hagrid checked that they were all in place before settling himself into a boat all his own.

‘Forward!’ he called out and the boats started forward. As they turned a bend gasps came from all around. The castle had come into sight, silhouetted against the starry black sky with all its towers and turrets. The light from the windows almost looked like stars.

All too soon their boat ride ended and Hagrid called them all into assembly on the front lawn.

‘All set?’ he asked. There was a murmur of agreement so Hagrid knocked on the door three times. The door was promptly opened by a woman with brown hair flowing over her light blue dress robes.

‘Thank you Hagrid, I’ll take them from here.’ The woman stepped back and ushered the new students through the doors. ‘I am Professor Allen.’

The room they filed into was amazing. Large double doors to the left had sounds of chatter and laughter coming through them, but Professor Allen led them to a small room just to the right of those double doors.

‘Stay here. The Sorting Ceremony is an honourable ceremony and you all should look smart for it. There are four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own merits and has produced many fine wizards and witches. While you are here, your house will be like your family. Commit actions of honour and respect and you will gain House Points, but any rule breaking will lose you points.

‘Now, I’ll return for you when we’re ready.’ And with that, she left the room and closed the door.

Nervous chatter broke out amongst the students about which House they’d like to be in, but one voice rose out above the rest.

‘ _I_ know which House I’ll be in. _I’ll_ be in Slytherin.’ Many faces turned to the source of the voice. A sneering girl stalked up to the front, but as she opened her mouth to speak, Professor Allen came back through the door.

‘Miss Lestrange, thank you for your input, but we must be going now.’ Professor Allen told the girl off as she skulked back into the crowd. ‘Now, follow me.’

Through the double doors they went. Inside those doors were four tables lined up next to each other and a table at the front of the room in front of four shining hourglasses full of brilliant gems, all under a starry ceiling. In the middle of the table at the front sat a woman with her grey hair pulled back in a tight bun, wearing emerald green robes. In front of her sat a weathered old hat atop a stool. It looked so old that Scorpius assumed the only thing still holding it together was magic. The first years crowded around the stool. Scorpius figured that this must be the Sorting Hat and so he watched it closely. A large rip above the brim opened and a voice came out of it.

 _‘A thousand years or more ago_  
_When Hogwarts was begun,_  
_Our founders created Houses_  
_In the school itself as one._  
_Said Ravenclaw: ‘I’ll teach those_  
_Whose wit and smarts come in a flood.’_  
_Said Slytherin: ‘I’ll teach just those_  
_Who are of noble and pure blood.’_  
_Said Gryffindor: ‘I’ll teach those_  
_Whose bravery shines through.’_  
_Said Hufflepuff: ‘I’ll teach them all_  
_What I know is true.’_  
_So Hogwarts worked in harmony_  
_For many years to come,_  
_Until the Dark Lord’s rise to power_  
_Rang out with the war drums._  
_For those cunning and sly Slytherins_  
_Fought with Gryffindor’s bravest_  
_While Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs_  
_Sided with their favourites._  
_Then Harry Potter came along_  
_And showed us what to do._  
_He defeated the Dark Lord,_  
_We’re well rid of You-Know-Who._  
_Take heed of my song, students,_  
_For though the evil’s gone_  
_I still promote House Unity,_  
_I will until I’m done._  
_So come on up, slip me on_  
_Snug about your ears._  
_I’ll figure out where you belong_  
_For all your Hogwarts years.’_

And then the hat was motionless. Everyone started clapping so the first years joined in.

Professor Allen stepped up next to the stool. ‘When I call your name please come up here and sit down. Armstrong, Bailey.’

A boy with long brown hair walked up to the stool and Professor Allen put the hat on him, which slid over his eyes. After a moment the rip opened again and yelled out to the hall. ‘HUFFLEPUFF!’ The table second from the left cheered and the boy went to sit with them.

‘Bialek, Jennifer’ became a Ravenclaw and the second table from the right cheered this time.

The sorting continued, then ‘Jacobs, Elizabeth’ was called. Liza solemnly walked up and put the hat on.

Scorpius watched anxiously for her, then ‘GRYFFINDOR!’ rang through the hall and when Professor Allen removed the hat, Liza’s eyes were shining bright as she went to join the table on the far left.

‘Lestrange, Rachael.’ The sneering girl who had been so confident about her House sauntered forward and the hat didn’t even make it over her eyes before it shouted ‘SLYTHERIN!’ Rachael smirked as she sat at the table on the far right.

‘Malfoy, Scorpius.’ Scorpius didn’t feel well as he walked up to the stool. The last thing that he saw before the hat covered his eyes was hundreds of faces watching him and the Lestrange girl making room for him at the Slytherin table. Then it all went black.

 _‘Hmm. Interesting, very interesting,’_ said a voice in his ear. _‘Loyalty of a Hufflepuff, witty as a Ravenclaw, bravery of a Gryffindor, and even the sly cunning of a Slytherin. Where should you go?’_

 _My father wants me in Slytherin,_ Scorpius thought glumly.

 _‘Your dad, eh? How about you? Where do_ you _want to be?’_

Scorpius thought of the Lestrange girl over at the Slytherin table, then of Liza sitting at the Gryffindor table and he knew which he preferred.

 _‘Ah, yes, I see. Better be_ GRYFFINDOR _!’_ Scorpius heard the last word shouted out to the crowd. There was silence for a moment as the hat was raised but the Gryffindor table started cheering tentatively as he went to join them. Liza was cheering the loudest and when he sat next to her she squeezed his hand.

Scorpius felt happy despite the surprise permeating the rest of the Hall, but when he looked across the room he saw the Lestrange girl glaring at him with such venom that his face fell. She didn’t even look away when another boy sat down next to her.

‘Potter, Albus.’

Scorpius tore his gaze away from the glare and saw Al sitting on the stool with the hat on.

Fairly quickly, the brim opened and yelled ‘GRYFFINDOR!’ Al smiled and practically ran to the table, looking extremely relieved.

‘Hey,’ Scorpius smiled.

‘Hey,’ Al grinned back.

When they both looked back up, there were only four people left to be sorted. ‘Thomas, Edward’ joined the Gryffindors, ‘Thomason, Alexis’ became a Ravenclaw, then…

‘Weasley, Rose.’ Rose walked up and slid the hat on over her eyes. Scorpius noticed that Al had his fingers crossed under the table.

‘GRYFFINDOR!’ echoed through the hall. Al, Liza and Scorpius cheered as Rose came over and sat next to Liza.

‘Zhorch, Adrian’ became a Hufflepuff and then Professor Allen carried the hat and stool out of the hall as the woman at the centre of the High Table stood up.

‘Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall, your Headmistress. I am sure that you are all hungry, so I shall save the speech for later.’ She swept her arms across the hall and food appeared on the golden platters on the tables.

Digging in, Liza and Scorpius chatted with Al, Rose, and Fred, all of whom turned out to be cousins.

‘Yeah,’ Fred explained, ‘my dad, her dad,’ he said nodding at Rose, ‘and his mum,’ indicating Al, ‘are all siblings. We have a rather large family,’ he finished, grinning.

‘What about you, Scorpius?’ Al asked him.

‘There’s not much to tell,’ Scorpius mumbled to his pudding, which had replaced the dinner on the table. ‘My father’s a workaholic only child. I’ve only seen my mum’s family a few times, they live in America. My mum basically raised me on her own.’

The other four were silent for a moment. Liza, Rose, and Al were all looking at him with pity, but Fred seemed to be calculating.

Scorpius opened his mouth to ask Fred what was up, but Rose beat him out. ‘What about you, Liza?’

Liza proceeded to recount multiple stories, many of which had them in stitches, until the puddings went away and Professor McGonagall stood up.

‘Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Students are advised that the Forbidden Forest is off limits. Mr Filch, our caretaker, would like me to remind you that all of the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes products are still banned. If you wish, the list of banned items is up on his office door for your perusal. Magic is not permitted in the corridors. Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will be held the third week of the term. Anyone interested in trying out for their team should contact their Head of House. Classes will start on Monday, the fourth of September. Prefects, please show the first years to their dorms. Good night.’

Deafening scraping sounds punctuated the end of Professor McGonagall’s speech as everyone pushed back from their tables. Scorpius felt a glare burning a hole in the side of his head, but he didn’t dare look over at the group of Slytherins now exiting the hall.

Al happened to see, though. ‘Hey, Scorpius, there’s a girl staring at you.’

‘Yeah,’ he muttered to his feet as they followed Fred up the marble staircase to even more staircases as they climbed into a tower. Al shut up – something about Scorpius’s tone seemed to have hinted to Al that he didn’t want to talk about it.

At the end of a passageway hung a portrait of a fat lady wearing a frilly pink dress.

‘Password?’ she asked them.

‘Sherbet Lemon,’ Fred announced.

The Fat Lady nodded and the portrait swung forward, revealing a passageway. Once they had all clambered through, they found themselves in a warm room with tables and armchairs surrounding a fireplace.

‘Welcome to Gryffindor Tower,’ Fred announced, waving his arms. ‘Alright, the boys’ dormitories are up these stairs,’ Fred pointed to the spiraling staircase to the right, ‘and the girls’ dormitories are up there.’ He indicated the staircase to the left.

Scorpius climbed the staircase with Al and three others. They found their trunks already placed at the front of the beds and so they pulled on their pyjamas.

‘Night, Scorpius,’ Al called from the next bed over.

‘Night, Al.’ Scorpius closed his bed curtains and fell asleep.


	3. Three

Scorpius woke with a start.

_It was just a dream,_ he told himself. In his dream, he had been locked in a cage while his father and the Lestrange girl yelled things like ‘Should’ve been in Slytherin, then you’d know how to get out,’ and ‘Not living up to your family name,’ at him.

It was just a dream, but it had rattled Scorpius. Was he really in the right house?

Al woke up a little after Scorpius.

‘Hey,’ he smiled, ‘wanna go get some breakfast?’

‘For my pants?’ Scorpius muttered. He hadn’t been paying attention to Al, so when Al started sniggering, Scorpius started.

‘Does that mean something like “sure”?’ Al laughed.

Scorpius was entirely confused. ‘What?’

Al controlled his laughter, with a bit of difficulty. ‘I asked if you wanted to go get breakfast and you replied “For your pants” so I asked if that meant “sure” so that we can go eat.’ Both boys lost control to their laughter then and further speech was rendered impossible.

Once they could speak, Scorpius asked Al, ‘So, you wanna go get some food?’

Al grinned. ‘For your pants.’

At breakfast Al talked with Rose and Liza while Scorpius wrote a quick letter home.

_Dear Mother and Father,_  
_Well, I’m safe here at Hogwarts. You were right – the food here’s great. I’ve made a few friends already._  
_I’ll write again. Miss you already._  
_Scorpius_

Scorpius rolled up his letter and put it in his bag. He would go up to the owlry once he was done eating.

The morning post came in then, shocking those new students who had never seen so many owls before.

Liza’s snowy owl flew down and landed on the table in front of her, a package attached to her leg.

‘Oh, excellent,’ Liza exclaimed, tearing the paper away. ‘I forgot my camera at home.’

She pulled out a camera and snapped a picture of Rose and Al across the table. Al was still partially asleep, so he didn’t notice. Rose, however, complained that she hadn’t been ready. The rest of breakfast was spent taking pictures of each other. Mostly of Al and Scorpius though, as the girls ganged up on the boys.

‘Did you know that if you develop these in a special potion, the pictures move?’ Scorpius told her.

‘Really?’ Liza’s eyes brightened. ‘Can you show me how?’

‘Yeah,’ he agreed. Of course, he would have to learn it himself first…

They had finished eating and were back in the common room when Scorpius remembered his letter home.

‘Hey, Al, I need to go send a letter. Wanna come with?’

Al smirked. ‘For your pants.’

Both boys sniggered as they walked out of the Gryffindor common room to find their way to the owlry.

They got lost twice and had to ask multiple ghosts and portraits for help, but they finally made it.

Walking in, Scorpius looked around in amazement. He had never seen so many owls so small of a room.

Merlin immediately flew down and landed on Scorpius’s shoulder.

‘Hey, boy.’ Scorpius stroked Merlin’s head as he walked over to the window. ‘Can you take this to my mother and father?’

Merlin hooted and nipped Scorpius’s finger in a friendly way before taking off.

On the way back to the common room Scorpius and Al immediately asked a painting where to go and set off in the direction it told them.

‘So, what’d you tell your parents?’ Al asked.

Scorpius didn’t look at Al as he answered. ‘Just that I’m here and safe and that I’d write again.’

They walked in silence for a bit, Al didn’t ask anything else and Scorpius didn’t want to tell.

That evening was when the Gryffindor first years met their Head of House. Professor Longbottom was the Herbology professor and he had a kind face. He gathered them all at one end of the Gryffindor table and told them that he was there for them if they needed anything at all. And then Sunday after lunch Fred took them all on a tour of the castle – Scorpius and Al agreed that it was a nice thought but they were still just as confused as they had been before the tour. The staircases that didn’t lead to the same place every time you walked on them didn’t help matters at all.

On September fourth, Scorpius awoke from yet another nightmare so his day was already off to a mediocre start. During breakfast, the first years didn’t talk much – they were all seemingly lost in their own thoughts about the beginning of their Hogwarts career. Scorpius barely managed to stomach some toast by the time Professor Longbottom was making his way along the table distributing schedules.

‘Rose, here you go. Elizabeth, here’s yours. Albus, see you later today. You too, Scorpius.’

Scorpius took his schedule and looked at what he had. Today, he had Potions right away, Double Charms with Professor Turpin and then Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Allen and Herbology with Professor Longbottom in the afternoon. Astronomy with Professor Sinistra would be at midnight. Liza immediately came over to Scorpius and Al to compare schedules. They, along with Rose, found that they all had the same classes.

The early bell rang and everyone got up to go to their first classes of the year.

The Gryffindor first years walked to the dungeons where they would be having Potions and found the Slytherins there as well. Scorpius saw the Lestrange girl looking at him, but she didn’t seem to be angry anymore – she seemed to be deep in thought. Scorpius also had a nagging suspicion that he knew one of the other Slytherins from somewhere, but before he could figure it out, Professor Heineka opened the door and gestured for them all to enter. Al, Rose and Liza immediately sat at a table together and left a seat open for Scorpius. He hesitated a moment before sitting down, making sure that they had time to tell him that the seat wasn’t for him. That reprimand never came.

‘Welcome to Potions,’ the professor greeted the class as she entered. ‘I am Professor Heineka, your Potions Master. We will start brewing concoctions next class, but for today I want you all to read the introduction and first chapter of your books.’

The class was fairly uneventful; everyone read and took a few notes before the bell rang. Scorpius heard most of the class complaining, but he didn’t mind in the least. He loved reading about potions.

‘Don’t worry, we’ll start brewing next class,’ Professor Heineka assured them with a smile as they packed up their things.

After Potions, the four Gryffindors followed their classmates to the Charms classroom where they found out that they would be having class with the first year Hufflepuffs.

Everyone was seated as the bell rang and their professor swept into the classroom.

‘Hello class, I am Professor Turpin, a Hogwarts alum from Ravenclaw. Now, if you would please take your wands out…’

A double period of practise wand work and incantations left the students feeling fairly disappointed. All of them had wanted to actually perform some magic. Scorpius had also felt some cool feelings shot his way from Professor Turpin, and he didn’t know what to make of them. He couldn’t have already done something to make her think that he was a bad student.

Al and Scorpius were making their way across the Entrance Hall after lunch when someone called out, ‘Hey, Potter!’

Al turned and Scorpius held back with him.

Nikolai Thomas, a Gryffindor two years ahead of Scorpius and Al, caught up to them and handed Al a package. ‘Your brother asked me to give this to you.’

‘Thanks.’ Al muttered as Nikolai turned to go outside for his break.

‘I wonder why your brother didn’t deliver that himself,’ Scorpius wondered to Al as they walked back to the Gryffindor tower for their break and free period.

‘Dunno,’ Al mumbled, toying with the package and not opening it.

Once in the common room, Al continued on up to the dormitories and Scorpius let him go alone. Instead, he sat down at an empty table to work on his Potions and Charms work.

Jake, another Gryffindor first year, threw down his bag across the table from Scorpius. ‘Hey Scorpius.’

‘Hey Jake. Need any help?’ Scorpius offered.

‘No thanks, I think I got it.’ He rummaged around in his bag for a moment before giving up and turning back to Scorpius. ‘Actually, do you have an extra quill I could borrow?’

‘Yeah, give me a second.’ Scorpius pulled out his extra quill and passed it across the table.

‘Thanks.’ And Jake disappeared behind his _Standard Book of Spells, Grade One_.

Scorpius glanced around the room and saw Fred with that same calculating look on his face from the Welcome Feast and quickly looked away. Scorpius tried to hide his flushed ears, he still didn’t know why Fred was looking at him like that, and he was too much of a coward to ask Fred about it. _Why was I placed in Gryffindor?_ Scorpius wondered to himself.

As he worked through his Charms work, Scorpius thought about his Sorting. Why did the Hat think that he belonged in Gryffindor? He was from a family of Slytherins, he wasn’t even brave. Fortunately for him, the bell rang and interrupted Scorpius’s brooding.

For their first Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Professor Allen wasn’t even there.

The Gryffindor first years walked into an empty classroom. They all sat down and waited for someone to tell them what to do. The bell rang and Professor Heineka walked in the door.

‘Hello again,’ she greeted them all. ‘Professor Allen was called away suddenly; she said that she hopes to be back for your next class. For now, she wants you to read the first chapter in your books.’

The class’s collective groan was cut short when they all opened their books. It was by far the most interesting textbook any of them had ever read. The forty-five minutes passed quickly and Scorpius found himself wishing that he could continue.

As the Gryffindors walked to Herbology together, they all talked about what they had read. Even once the class started, many of them tried to carry on their conversations in whispers until Professor Longbottom cut them all off and made them focus on the plant he was showing them.

After class, Scorpius and Al were walking to the Great Hall for dinner together when they ran into a Slytherin.

Literally.

‘Oh, Merlin, I’m sorry,’ the Slytherin apologised as Al and Scorpius helped him pick up his books.

‘It’s alright,’ they assured him. It was the Slytherin that Scorpius had recognised from Potions, but he still couldn’t tell from where.

As they were about to go their separate ways, the kid grabbed Scorpius’s shoulder.

‘Don’t say I told you this,’ he began, glancing around, ‘but Rachael’s pretty mad. She reckons that you were swayed into Gryffindor by those girls you hang with, as well as him,’ he continued, pointing to Al. ‘She’s determined to bring you back.’

Scorpius felt his blood chill, but he was determined not to show fear on his face. Suddenly, he realised where he recognised the kid from.

‘Thanks, erm, Jason?’ he asked, tentatively, hoping that it was actually him.

He nodded, smiling. ‘Yeah, Jason Nott.’

Just then the bell rang for dinner. Al and Scorpius separated from Jason to head over to the Gryffindor table.

After dinner, Scorpius and Al decided to put off their homework and killed the time until midnight playing Wizard’s Chess.

After both boys each acquired six stunning losses to Rose, it was eleven thirty and time to go to Astronomy. They learned that they would be studying the stars first and set about labeling their star charts.

The next day Scorpius saw Merlin flying in with the morning post.

‘Hey, boy,’ Scorpius greeted his owl and offered him a bit of toast before he flew off to the owlry.

‘Who sent you that?’ Liza asked around a mouthful of porridge.

Scorpius recognised the handwriting. ‘It’s from my mother.’ He opened his letter quickly.

_Scorpius,_  
_I’m so glad to hear that you’re having a good time and making friends already._  
_Your father is away on another business trip so I’m going to America for a month or so to visit Grandma and Grandpa Greengrass and everyone there, I’ll tell them that you send your love._  
_You know that if you ever need me, just send word and I’ll be back as soon as possible._  
_Write again soon! I miss you._  
_Love,_  
_Mother_  
_P.S. You didn’t mention which House you’re in. Where did you get Sorted?_

Scorpius was glad to get a letter from his mother. He debated whether or not he wanted to tell her about how he was in Gryffindor. His father wouldn’t be there to be angry with him, but how would she feel? This got him thinking again about his father and he was silent through the rest of breakfast and on the walk to class.

Both he and Al were quiet and brooding during their first Transfiguration class. Scorpius only registered that the professor’s name was Katy Poole and that they would be starting wand work the next class. Liza and Rose noticed the boys’ distracted nature and tried various methods to bring them back, but to no avail. Scorpius even heard Liza say that she was thinking about moving to Russia to join a circus, but even that only produced a brief snort from him.

The bell announced the end of the class, making Scorpius jump. As he gathered his books together, Professor Poole called out ‘Mr Malfoy and Mr Potter, could I see you both for a moment?’

Scorpius and Al looked at each other, and then back at the professor. She was sitting at her desk looking through a book. She didn’t seem too angry as the boys approached her, or so Scorpius hoped.

When they reached her desk she laid down her book and looked up at them. ‘I noticed that you boys were a little distracted during class.’ Al examined his feet and Scorpius cringed for the blow.

But Professor Poole just smiled as she handed them both a piece of parchment. ‘Here are the notes from today’s lesson. I trust that Miss Jacobs and Miss Weasley can help you fill in some of the holes. Now run along, and try not to let it happen again.’ And with that she waved them out of her classroom.

Scorpius and Al exchanged a relieved glance before walking back to their bags.

When the Gryffindor first years walked into the History of Magic classroom there was no Professor Binns in sight. They all sat down and took out their books and quills and waited.

The bell rang again and several girls screamed as Professor Binns, a ghost, walked through the wall and up to the desk.

‘Hello class. I am Professor Binns,’ he introduced himself, undaunted by the screams that still rang in Scorpius’s ears. ‘Please take out your quills and notebooks to take notes.’

Forty-five minutes later the class filed out amidst sighs of relief. Scorpius and Al agreed that History of Magic was going to be their least favourite subject.

Half-way through their free period, Liza and Rose realised that Scorpius and Al were not doing their History of Magic homework. They tried to get them to do it, but the boys decided to wait – they would have all of lunch and break to finish it after all. However, once there was an hour left until the afternoon’s classes, the boys still had done nothing for their homework in favour of sitting in their dormitory and thinking to themselves. The girls gave up and left the boys to their brooding.

During Herbology later that day, Scorpius found it harder and harder to pay attention. He remembered his father’s proud announcement, ‘I’m sure you’ll be in Slytherin,’ and he dreaded telling his parents the truth. Scorpius still wasn’t even sure he wanted to tell his mother, much less any of the rest of his family.

The rustle of papers and chairs brought Scorpius back to reality. As he packed up his books, Al asked him what the assignment was. Luckily for both of them Liza and Rose had taken notes and knew what they needed to do for the next class. By that time, Scorpius had decided to tell his mum. He hoped that she would still like him, even though he was in Gryffindor.

Before Scorpius was ready, they were walking into the dungeon for double Potions with the Slytherins. Scorpius was nervous about seeing the Lestrange girl again so when he felt a tap on his shoulder he started a little. When he turned around the Lestrange girl was standing behind him.

‘Hi. You’re Scorpius Malfoy, right? I’m Rachael Lestrange,’ she introduced herself boldly, holding out her hand.

Had Jason lied to him? She seemed nice enough now. ‘Hi Rachael,’ he responded, shaking her hand.

There was something wrong with her smile – it seemed entirely too cheerful. ‘Do you want to sit with us?’ she gestured to the group of Slytherins she had walked in with. Scorpius saw Jason grimacing at him over Rachael’s shoulder as she dropped her voice. ‘You wouldn’t have to sit with _them_.’ She glanced pointedly at the group of Gryffindors who had saved Scorpius a seat at their table again and were watching the conversation interestedly.

Ah, so Jason was right. ‘They’re my friends,’ Scorpius told her coolly, turning and walking over to join the friends in question.

As he sat down, the professor walked into the room. What impeccable timing the woman had. ‘Ms Lestrange, if you please.’

Scorpius didn’t dare look over at the Slytherin table to see how the Lestrange girl was taking it. He kept his eyes on Professor Heineka as she explained how to brew a Pepperup Potion and put the instructions up on the board. Scorpius felt the Lestrange girl’s glare burning his left ear and he knew that the others could see her, even though none of them mentioned anything.

The longest hour and a half of his life finally passed and Scorpius practically ran out of the classroom and up to the Gryffindor Tower before collapsing (admittedly winded) on his bed. He was sure that Al and Liza and Rose wouldn’t want to talk to him now that they had seen how people acted from where he should have been sorted. Maybe he could ask to get switched to Slytherin so that he wouldn’t bother them anymore. Besides, then he wouldn’t disappoint his parents.

Scorpius heard the door open and close through his closed bed curtains, but he didn’t care, he just started packing.

‘Scorpius?’ came Al’s timid call. Scorpius paused for only a moment before continuing to pack. A moment later, Al’s face appeared through the curtains.

‘Scorpius?’ he asked again, this time curious about the state of Scorpius’s things. ‘What’re you doing?’

‘I’m switching to Slytherin so that you guys won’t have to be around me.’

‘Why would you do that?’ Al’s question took Scorpius by surprise and when he looked up, Al’s face was so genuinely surprised and hurt that it stopped Scorpius’s packing, star chart in one hand and textbook in the other.

‘Er, what?’

Al sat on the foot of Scorpius’s bed. ‘Well, I mean, I thought that we were friends, and… well… I want to stay your friend, so I’d go with you, but I _really_ don’t want to be in Slytherin. Can’t we just stay here?’

Scorpius couldn’t seem to remember how to speak. He had thought that Al especially would have been relieved, but instead he was offering to go to Slytherin as well.

‘Well,’ Scorpius managed to find his voice again, ‘I guess we could, if you still want to hang around me.’

Al looked relieved. ‘Yeah, I want to hang around you. That’s what friends do.’

Scorpius realised, though he didn’t know when or how it had happened, that over the past few days he and Al had become good friends. He smiled and Al smiled back.

‘Wanna go see if the girls saved us a seat?’ Al asked, getting up.

Scorpius smirked. ‘For your pants.’


	4. Four

The Gryffindors walked into their second Defence Against the Dark Arts class and saw Professor Heineka once again.

‘Sorry, Professor Allen is still away. Please continue reading. However, I would prefer if you didn’t continue talking about what you’ve read in your next class today, I do have a good lesson planned,’ she promised them with a knowing smile.

So on Friday, their first _real_ Defence Against the Dark Arts class started off with a bang.

The Gryffindors walked into the room and found that the desks had been lined around the edges of the room. As they all stood crowded around the door, unsure of what to do, the bell rang.

‘Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Please find a spot to sit along the outside of the room, you may sit on the desks,’ a woman’s voice called out as the source appeared from the shadows. ‘I am Professor Melissa Allen. I believe in getting to know your Professors, so I am starting off this class by offering you lot a chance to ask me any questions you like and I will answer them as truthfully as possible.’

‘Where have you been?’ Al asked.

Professor Allen sighed. ‘My husband was ill, so I had to go home to take care of him. He is perfectly well again now, though, so no worries.’

‘So you’re married?’ Allyson fired off.

Professor Allen smiled. ‘Yes, I am. My husband’s name is Samuel Allen, some of you Quidditch fans may recognise the name…’ she trailed off as almost every single person in the class gasped in recognition.

‘Wait, you’re married to the best Seeker outside of Europe?’ Aiden asked, his mouth hanging open.

‘Well he says that he’s the best in the world, but I’ll be sure to tell him how you feel,’ she replied. Aiden turned red, but Professor Allen just laughed. ‘Don’t worry; it’s good for him to have a nice reality check every now and then. He’s currently training with the American National Team, getting ready for the Quidditch World Cup in two years.’

‘So you’re from America?’ Rose asked.

Professor Allen nodded. ‘I’m from Illinois and Sam’s from Wisconsin. He played for our school and the World Cup team scouted him in our final years, hoping to hire him as soon as he was through. They did, then a few years later I was invited to be a Defence professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Britain.’

‘How old are you?’ Katie asked.

‘I am twenty-five years old.’

‘How old is Samuel?’ Edward, the other Quidditch nut, asked. Scorpius wondered why Edward and Aiden didn’t know already.

‘He’s twenty-five as well.’

‘Were you ever in any battles?’ Jake piped up.

Professor Allen sighed once more, though this one was much sadder. ‘I’m sorry, but I will not answer that at this time. Next question.’

‘Where did you go to school?’ Jessica asked next.

‘I went to Mid, which is what we called our school. The full name was Magical Academy: Midwest. In America, you go to school based on the region where you live. There are six schools in total: Mid, Mag-Hawaii, Mag-North, Mag-South, MAK – that’s in Alaska – and M-Pac – Pacific.’

There was a pause in the questions as everyone imagined the land that Professor Allen grew up in. It wasn’t that far physically, but it felt worlds away.

‘Is that it?’ Professor Allen wondered aloud with a smile. It seemed to be, so she continued on. ‘Alright then.

‘So, Defence Against the Dark Arts. I’ve heard that you all have enjoyed reading your books.’ She winked at them. ‘Over your seven years in this class, we are going to learn how to defend ourselves from various Dark Spells, about various creatures, and how to duel – which brings me to the subject of today’s class. As I told you, my husband is off training, so I asked a friend to come and help me with today’s class. My friend, who also happens to be an Auror, has come to have a duel with me. We are going to go slow at first, but eventually I want to advance to a normal-paced duel and I trust you all will pick up on it.’

‘Who is the friend?’ Liza asked. Scorpius thought that she looked ready to bounce out of her seat.

Professor Allen smiled. ‘His name is fairly famous, you might recognise him.’ Scorpius caught a special glance she shot Al and Rose’s way. ‘Please welcome Harry Potter.’

With that intro, Harry Potter himself walked into the room, a grin on his face. Scorpius started at the resemblance between the man in the centre of the room and the Gryffindor first year sitting at Scorpius’s side. There were many gasps around the room.

‘Please watch carefully,’ Professor Allen instructed. ‘There may or may not be a quiz about this next class.’ She winked before bowing to Harry Potter.

The duel started off slow, with both of the adults showing the class various points of interest, but eventually it evolved into a fast paced duel with spells being shot as others were parried or dodged. Professor Allen had placed a protective charm around the class so not a single stray curse hit them.

The duel ended rather abruptly. Both adults shot off spells at the exact same time which rebounded off of each other and caused both wands to fly out of their owners’ hands.

There was a moment of silence as everyone comprehended what had just happened. Then the class started cheering while the adults collected their wands and bowed to each other.

Professor Allen removed the protective charm. ‘That is what we’re going to be building towards in your seven years here. Please write down a few things you noticed to talk about next time,’ she informed the class in time for the bell to ring. ‘See you all on Monday!’ she called.

Al and Rose hung back to talk to Harry Potter, so Scorpius and Liza walked to lunch together. They had barely sat down to eat when Rose came running to them.

‘Guys, Uncle Harry wants to meet you. We’ll eat with him, c’mon!’ She practically dragged Scorpius and Liza out of the hall.

As Scorpius followed Rose back to the classroom, he couldn’t help but worry. What would Harry Potter think of his son being friends with Draco Malfoy’s son?

When they reached the room, Liza followed Rose confidently through the door while Scorpius followed slowly and timidly.

‘Hi Mr Potter, I’m Liza Jacobs.’ As Liza shook Harry Potter’s hand, Scorpius was fairly sure that he saw a trace of anxiety through the coolness of her features; she fidgeted with her pink hair ribbon much more than usual. He wasn’t sure why – she wasn’t a Malfoy.

‘Nice to meet you, Liza.’ Mr Potter smiled, and then he spotted Scorpius’s post near the doorway. ‘And you must be Scorpius.’ He held out his hand.

Scorpius stepped forward to shake it. ‘Yeah, I’m Scorpius Malfoy. Nice to meet you, Mr Potter.’

He let out a short laugh. ‘So formal. I’d have you both call me Harry, if you’re comfortable.’

Scorpius didn’t know what to think. He had been sure that Harry Potter, of all people, wouldn’t want to talk to him. After all, his father and Mr Potter hadn’t exactly been the best of mates during their Hogwarts years.

Scorpius realised that Mr Potter had asked him a question when he saw everyone looking at him expectantly. He flushed and mumbled ‘Sorry, what?’ to the ground.

‘I asked how you like Gryffindor so far.’

Scorpius looked up at Mr Potter’s face, which was smiling. ‘Well, it’s pretty good so far.’

‘That’s good. When’s the first Quidditch match?’ Mr Potter addressed Al now, leaving Scorpius to his thoughts.

After lunch, the four Gryffindors returned to their respective dormitories. Neither Al nor Scorpius felt like working, so they both sat on their beds and talked.

‘On Christmas we all open our presents at home first, then we go to Grandma and Grandpa’s for another set of presents. When the whole family is together, you generally can’t hear yourself think.’ Al smiled to himself at the memories.

Scorpius remained silent, but Al wasn’t having any of that today. ‘What about you? What’re your Christmases like?’ he probed.

‘Well…’ Even though they were friends, Scorpius still found it hard to talk about his family with Al. ‘Most of my Christmases were just me and my mother. Those were the best, because when my father would be there it was a silent and formal occasion. However, if my father wasn’t there, me and my mother would relax a bit more. There was more smiling and laughter when he was gone.’ It was Scorpius’s turn to smile at a happy memory.

Al looked thoughtful. ‘What was your life like, before Hogwarts? Did you have many friends?’

_Might as well,_ Scorpius figured. ‘Not really. My home is in a predominantly Muggle area, and we’re pretty isolated even from them. My father wasn’t exactly the most family friendly host, so most of the people that came to the dinner parties didn’t bring their kids. The one time that there was someone my age was when the Notts came over. Jason, that Slytherin we ran into, was the one.’

‘What does your dad do?’ Al looked more intrigued than Scorpius had thought that anyone would be. He was glad for it too – it helped him become more comfortable.

‘He’s some sort of Ministry employee. I don’t even know what he actually does; I just know that he’s never home. He goes on business trips all the time and when he is home he’s less easy-going as my mother. Apparently he was a Death Eater during the Second War and my mother’s sister was in his year. Sometimes I wonder if it was an arranged marriage. Though most of the time my mother isn’t the easiest to talk to either.’ Scorpius was pleasantly surprised to find that it was getting easier to look somewhere other than his feet while talking about his past.

‘But,’ Al started, looking perplexed. ‘Your mum writes you a lot.’

‘I think she’s warming up to me now that I’m not actually home every day.’

Al looked sympathetic. He opened his mouth to say something, but Merlin interrupted him by flying through the window.

‘Hey, boy,’ Scorpius greeted him. Merlin wasn’t carrying anything – he seemed to be there to remind Scorpius of something he needed to do.

‘Oh!’ he gasped, snatching his bag and rummaging around for a quill and some parchment.

‘What’s up?’ Al asked, watching his progress.

‘I’m telling my mother that I’m in Gryffindor.’ Scorpius answered, sounding more certain of himself than he actually felt.

_Mother,_  
_I didn’t get Sorted into Slytherin. I’m in Gryffindor. Sorry if I’ve disappointed you and Father._  
_Have fun in America._  
_Love,_  
_Scorpius_

Scorpius rolled up the letter and tied it to Merlin’s leg before the owl soared back out the window.

‘What about you?’ Scorpius asked before Al could continue asking questions. ‘I noticed that you aren’t too happy whenever someone mentions your brother.’

Al shrugged uncomfortably. ‘Well, my dad is Harry Potter and my brother goes to this school. I feel like I can’t have a personality of my own – it’s all based on who I’m related to.’

‘Just be yourself. Show them all that you are Al, not Harry Potter’s son or James Potter’s brother,’ Scorpius advised, all too familiar with the feeling.

‘Thanks.’ Al smiled. The duo remained in the dorm exchanging stories until they realised the time.

‘Merlin’s pants! We’ve got five minutes to get to History of Magic!’ Al realised, jumping off his bed and stuffing books into his bag. Scorpius followed suit.

The boys sprinted to the classroom and made it inside with mere seconds to spare. Liza rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly at the pair of them as they rushed to the back of the room. They both collapsed into their seats as Professor Binns floated through the wall and into the room. A few people still gasped, but no one screamed like before.

After Herbology, the Gryffindors returned to their common room to enjoy the start of their weekend. As they got to the common room, Al and Rose went up to their dorms to enjoy the quiet while it lasted. Scorpius flopped down on his favourite armchair, fully intending to sleep, but Liza wouldn’t have any of that. Scorpius had closed his eyes, so when Liza yelled ‘Scorpius!’ right next to his face he nearly jumped out of his skin.

‘Wuzzgoinon?’ he asked, gripping the arms of his chair and trying to keep his heart from beating right out of his chest.

‘You’ve procrastinated long enough. You need to do your homework.’ She whacked him on the arm and head with a roll of parchment until he, grudgingly, got up and sulked over to a table with Liza bouncing next to him.

‘What do you want to do first?’ Liza asked him cheerily. Scorpius, eyes closed and head leaning on a fist, just shrugged. Another whack to the head brought him back.

‘Okay, okay, I’m up.’ Scorpius grumbled. Liza looked appeased.

‘Alright, let’s start with Transfiguration.’

Scorpius was able to finish both the Transfiguration and Charms work, with help and pushy persuasion (in the form of a roll of parchment) from Liza. Several times, Scorpius was tempted to grab the parchment and chuck it into the fire, but Liza seemed to be able to sense his resolve and moved it away from his hand every time.

Al and Rose reappeared as Scorpius finished his last essay and Liza was packing up to get ready for dinner.

‘Wanna get some food?’ Al bounded up to them.

‘For your pants.’ Scorpius replied as both boys started sniggering uncontrollably. Liza and Rose shared a confused look that just said ‘ _Boys_.’

\---

The next day Merlin landed on the middle of Scorpius’s breakfast plate, effectively interrupting his meal.

‘Hey there, Merlin.’ Scorpius greeted him, untying the parcel from his leg. Liza offered Merlin a piece of bacon, which he accepted with a soft hoot before flying to the owlry.

‘What’s that?’ Rose asked. Al hadn’t come down yet.

‘It’s from my mother,’ Scorpius said, surprised and taken aback at how quickly she had responded as he broke the seal and opened the letter.

_Scorpius,_  
_Congratulations! Don’t worry, you haven’t disappointed me. Everyone here misses you and hopes to see you soon. Grandma sends her love (and a box of biscuits, which are rather delicious, if I do say so myself)._  
_Alexander wants me to tell you that he misses you especially, to which David retorts that he misses you even more. Aunt Daphne also says congratulations._  
_I’ll be returning home the day after tomorrow, your father isn’t due back till next month._  
_Hope to hear from you again soon._  
_Love,_  
_Mother_

Scorpius opened the package and found a dozen or so biscuits. He smiled broadly as he shut the parcel back up and put it in his bag. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest. His mother was okay with the fact that he wasn’t in Slytherin. His Greengrass grandparents were too. Aunt Daphne said congratulations.

‘Beautiful day, isn’t it?’ he beamed, helping himself to more bacon as Al appeared and used his toast for a pillow.


	5. Five

September turned into October much the same way: with Scorpius and Al procrastinating long enough that Liza decided that they needed some ‘motivation.’ Liza and Rose quickly rose to the top of their classes, except Potions where Scorpius soared above the rest, and Scorpius continued ignoring Rachael but talking with Jason whenever possible. Scorpius showed Liza the potion he had made for her to develop her pictures in and that made her take more pictures than ever, making the rest of the group – Scorpius included – wish that he had never shown her.

October fourteenth, the day of the first Quidditch match, dawned crisp and clear – the perfect day for a Quidditch match. Al and Scorpius couldn’t stop talking about the game. Rose joined in a little, but Liza, even though she had changed her usual pink attire for the red and gold of Gryffindor, failed entirely to see what all the hype was about.

‘I really don’t think you’ve talked about this all quite enough.’ Liza walked away from the table grumbling to Rose. Scorpius and Al watched them go.

‘I know that they’re the best in class, but, you know, they really are rather stupid,’ Al observed knowingly to Scorpius, who nodded in understanding.

At ten the school filed out to the Quidditch Pitch. Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw and James, Al’s brother, was playing as Keeper.

‘Where’s Liza?’ Scorpius asked Rose as she joined their bench.

Rose just shrugged. ‘I dunno, she was here a second ago.’

With that intro, the commentary started.

‘Welcome one, welcome all to the first Quidditch match of the year!’ a familiar voice called out. Scorpius turned and saw Fred holding the commentator’s microphone. ‘Thank you for joining us today as the Ravenclaw Eagles battle it out in the air against the Gryffindor Lions. Gryffindor’s returning team is compiled of all seventh years, they lost some excellent players last year who were all replaced by third years; let’s see how well this new Gryffindor team can do against a strong Ravenclaw team. And here come the Lions! Captain Kensington, Chasers Black and Wood, Beaters Parkinson and Shah, Keeper Potter and Seeker Vera!’ Seven red and gold figures zoomed out onto the pitch. As Fred announced the Ravenclaw line up, seven blue and bronze figures joined the red and gold ones on the pitch.

Madame Hooch, the flying instructor who had complimented Scorpius and Al on their natural ability during their flying lesson, strode out to the centre of the pitch.

From their position in the stands Scorpius couldn’t make out what was said, but a broad-shouldered red and gold figure stepped forward to shake hands with a slight blue and bronze figure with long black hair.

The whistle’s blow got lost in the cheers that erupted as the fourteen players and referee kicked off the ground and the balls were released. Scorpius found himself automatically scanning the pitch, looking for the Golden Snitch. He noticed Al watching the Chasers almost religiously. Scorpius shifted his attention for a moment and watched as James skillfully blocked a Ravenclaw Chaser’s shot, knocking it into Kensington’s waiting arms.

The score an hour and a half later was 140 to 130 in favour of Gryffindor. Scorpius had seen the Snitch at least five times before both Seekers flattened on their brooms, racing toward the Gryffindor fan section. Scorpius saw the Snitch shoot down and the Seekers dove after it. Scorpius was leaning forward on the edge of his seat; Al on the other hand was oblivious to Scorpius’s riveted posture as he watched Wood’s shot get blocked by the Ravenclaw Keeper.

‘She got it!’ Scorpius yelled just before the stadium erupted as Vera held up the Snitch triumphantly. The Gryffindor section cheered, excited that their team was still good through the divide in ages.

‘Your brother’s pretty good,’ Scorpius commented to Al as they walked back to the castle.

‘Yeah, so was my dad,’ Al replied.

‘Didn’t your dad make the team in his first year?’ Liza suddenly reappeared, making the other three jump.

‘Yeah…’ Al started, but got cut off by Rose.

‘Where’d you go?’ she inquired of Liza.

‘Oh, I was just talking with some people.’ She responded, very nonchalantly. Scorpius noticed that she was slightly out of breath and her hair had a windblown look to it, but he decided to let it go for now.

As they neared the castle Scorpius realised that he had left his scarf in the stands.

‘Bloody…’ he muttered. ‘I left my scarf on my seat. I’ll catch up with you.’

‘Okay.’ Liza waved as Scorpius turned around and headed back to the stands.

He found his scarf easily, but he disliked the feeling that he was getting – he felt like he was being watched. Once he was back in the castle the feeling dulled a bit, but it was still there.

As Scorpius turned down a corridor for a shortcut he saw the Lestrange girl there and he immediately turned around, but found his way blocked by two other Slytherins.

Cornered. He was cornered and there was no one else around.

‘Well, well, well, Scorpius Malfoy. Our own little blood-traitor,’ the Lestrange girl drawled from behind him. He refused to think of her by her first name because that meant familiarity. Slowly he turned around to face her.

‘You think that you’re so much better than we are, than your ancestors are, just because you’re in _Gryffindor?_ ’ she snarled. ‘Well you’re not! Now, I’m gonna give you a chance. Will you switch to Slytherin, where you belong, or stay in Gryffindor with your “ _friends_ ”?’ she spat at him.

Scorpius was aware of the two Slytherins standing behind him, blocking his escape. He decided against saying anything yet and observed his captors quickly. The Lestrange girl was obviously in charge, he wondered how that had happened so fast. Jason was standing behind a massive boy Scorpius didn’t know. The massive boy stepped forward, clenching a fist.

‘Rachael asked you a question. Ain’t you gonna answer?’ He raised his fist.

Scorpius remained silent. Closing his eyes, he prepared for the blow.

There was a crash and thud and a lot of swearing, but Scorpius didn’t feel the impact he was expecting. Opening his eyes, an interesting scene greeted him. The massive boy was sprawled on the ground, Jason on top of his arm. The massive guy’s hand was bent in a way that didn’t look natural.

‘Sorry, sorry, I tripped,’ Jason was apologising, picking himself up.

‘Is there a problem here?’ a voice called out. Scorpius turned and saw a girl with long, silvery-blond hair walking up the corridor. Her robes had a badge with an ‘HG’ on the front.

‘Of course not,’ the Lestrange girl responded sweetly, putting an arm around Scorpius’s shoulders. ‘We were just talking.’ Scorpius cringed away from her. The ‘HG’ girl’s glance took in the kid on the ground and Scorpius’s cringe as she raised an eyebrow sceptically.

‘Well then, I suggest that you lot take him to the Hospital Wing,’ she instructed, pointing at the guy on the ground who was now trying to get up without using his right hand, ‘and tell him not to punch any more walls. You.’ She looked directly at Scorpius. ‘Come with me.’ She turned on her heels to start walking away. Scorpius hurried to catch up, not even glancing at any of the Slytherins.

Once they were out of earshot the girl turned to him. ‘Are you alright?’ When Scorpius nodded, she continued walking at a slower pace and Scorpius followed along. ‘It looks like you’ve made a friend in Slytherin, good job Scorpius.’

Scorpius was surprised she knew his name. ‘I’m sorry, who are you?’

‘I’m Victorie Weasley. When you didn’t catch up to your friends, Al came to find me. I’m also the Head Girl, but don’t let that ruin your impression of me.’ She turned to wink and smile at him. Scorpius was surprised to find another Weasley, but he guessed that it was to be expected. After all, Fred had said that their family was quite large.

‘Did you see what happened?’ Scorpius asked her as they climbed Gryffindor Tower.

‘Only the very end. Montague was about to punch you but that Nott kid fell into him so he punched the wall instead,’ she informed him. Scorpius felt extremely grateful to Jason.

‘What about the Lestrange girl?’ he asked Victorie.

‘You mean Rachael?’ Victorie looked at him. ‘Why do you call her “the Lestrange girl”?’

Scorpius remained silent. He didn’t know what to say.

Victorie looked thoughtful. ‘You know, during Voldemort’s reign people called him You-Know-Who because they were even afraid of his name, some still are today. Only people like Dumbledore and Uncle Harry promoted not calling him You-Know-Who – they called him by his real name. They said that the fear of a name only increased fear of the thing itself. I think that you could learn something from them.’

Scorpius still said nothing, but this time he was thinking about Victorie’s words. Was that why he was afraid? If he only called her ‘the Lestrange girl’ was he giving her power?

By this time they had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

‘Here I must leave you.’ Victorie turned and Scorpius noticed a Ravenclaw emblem on her robes. ‘Besides, I’m sure that your friends want to hear about your little adventure.’ She smiled and turned to head back to the main part of the castle.

When Scorpius walked into the common room he saw Al, Liza and Rose sitting in armchairs by the fireplace. He managed to sit in an open armchair before being bombarded with questions.

‘Where were you?’ ‘What happened?’ ‘Are you okay?’ ‘Did Victorie find you?’ ‘What…’

‘Guys, guys, calm down,’ Scorpius cut them all off. ‘I’m fine, Victorie did find me.’

‘Well, what happened?’ Liza pressed.

‘I took a shortcut and ran into some Slytherins,’ Scorpius told them, not wanting to explain further.

Liza opened her mouth to continue asking questions, but Rose saved him. ‘Did you say you wanted some help with the Defense Against the Dark Arts homework?’ she asked before Liza could get a word out.

‘Yes, please.’ Scorpius followed her to a table, relieved to not have to think about his afternoon.

After dinner the four friends retired to their respective dormitories. Scorpius and Al walked up to find that the other guys weren’t there. Scorpius collapsed face down on his bed, so Al whacked him with a pillow. Scorpius grabbed the offending pillow and threw it on the other side of his bed, so Al snatched the pillow out from under Scorpius’s face and whacked him again with it.

‘Fine,’ Scorpius grumbled, but with a smile on his face. He sat up so Al could sit at the foot of his bed.

‘Are you really alright?’ Al asked Scorpius.

Scorpius had been prepared to lie again and say that he was fine, but Al looked so sincere that he decided not to. ‘I’m not sure,’ was his brilliant answer instead.

‘What happened?’

‘I just ran into some Slytherins being led by the Lestr– er, Rachael, and they almost beat me up.’

Al’s face betrayed his shock. ‘Almost beat you up? But you look fine.’

‘Remember Jason?’ Al nodded. ‘He managed to block it and make it look like an accident,’ Scorpius relayed the story. By the end, Al had a funny look on his face, like he didn’t know what emotion to feel.

‘Well,’ he started after a moment, his face settling on relief. ‘I’m glad you’re alright, mate.’

Scorpius smiled. ‘Yeah, me too.’

Both boys changed into their pyjamas and were lounging in the room when Liza came bursting through the door, causing Al to go tumbling off his bed.

‘Ok, here’s the deal,’ she began, ignoring the fact that Al was swearing on the floor and Scorpius was unable to control his laughter. ‘I’m planning a surprise party for Rose’s birthday for tomorrow night.’

‘What’s this got to do with us?’ Al grumbled, regaining his position on his bed.

Liza gave an exasperated sigh, like she thought that should have been obvious. ‘We’re her friends, so we need to plan it together.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘I need to get back. You two try and think of something we can do.’ With that, she went running back out the door and down the stairs.

Scorpius and Al shared a look that confirmed their mutual thought: ‘She’s mental.’

\---

The next morning, Scorpius woke up to a rainy and cloudy day – perfect for staying in bed late.

‘We should probably start thinking of ideas for Liza,’ Scorpius suggested idly to Al over the top of his magazine. Al just shrugged from his position on the floor and continued building his house of Exploding Snap cards.

The door flew open and banged against the wall, causing Al’s house to explode. The blast from the house slammed the door shut again and caught Scorpius’s magazine on fire. With a yell, he dropped it to the floor and stomped on it to put out the fire.

Liza reopened the door and peered in timidly. Al glared at her, his eyebrows slightly tinged. ‘What?’ he snapped.

‘I was just going to tell you to meet me in the common room at one-thirty for Rose’s party.’ She slipped back out.

Al grumbled to himself as he gathered the pieces of cards and what was left of Scorpius’s magazine.

‘Well, that solves that,’ Scorpius tried to lighten the mood. ‘Now we don’t have to come up with any stupid plans.’

It worked – at least a little, Al’s smile was small. ‘Yeah, that’s good.’ He threw away the burnt remains of his house before starting on a new one and Scorpius moved on to a book.

When they went down to breakfast, Scorpius led Al who was still half-asleep. As he sat down, Scorpius felt himself enveloped in a hug.

‘Thank you for the beautiful necklace,’ Rose beamed from next to him, wearing the ruby necklace that Scorpius, with his mother’s advice, had gotten her.

‘I’m glad you like it,’ Scorpius smiled back. He grabbed some bacon and laughed when Al fell back asleep in his porridge bowl, his lack of sleep the previous night catching up with him.

\---

As requested, Scorpius and Al went to the common room at one-thirty. Liza was waiting and ran over to them when they appeared, dragging them over to a table.

‘Okay, here’s the plan,’ she began, launching into an explanation of her magnificent plans for the day. Very few words actually remained in Al and Scorpius’s brains, they eventually just started nodding when it seemed like she wanted them to. Scorpius was amazed that someone could use that much energy throughout an entire speech and still have the fluctuations in tone and volume that Liza employed.

About halfway through Liza’s explanation, Rose appeared. She stood slightly behind Scorpius and listened to Liza.

‘What’s going on?’ she whispered to him.

‘Plans for your birthday,’ he whispered back.

‘Everyone know what they’re doing?’ Liza verified, glaring at Al and Scorpius.

Rose raised her hand. ‘Where do I come into all of this?’

‘Rose!’ Liza jumped. ‘How long have you been there?’

‘Since you were talking about the Giant Squid.’

‘Oh,’ Liza sighed. That had been the climax of her plans.

‘How about we just stay here?’ Al suggested. He was still slightly bitter about his card house.

‘That sounds good,’ Rose agreed, sitting down at the table. ‘So, where’s my cake?’

‘I’ll go get it,’ Scorpius offered. Liza nodded and told him that it was in the kitchens.

‘I’ll go with you.’ Al joined Scorpius walking out the portrait hole. They went to the Great Hall, but quickly realised that they didn’t actually know how to get to the kitchens. They looked around the hall, but the only doors they could find led outside.

‘What do you suppose we should do?’ Al asked as they found yet another dead end.

‘I dunno…’ Scorpius looked around. Just then, he saw Liza walk past the doors leading back into the castle. ‘Hey,’ he grabbed Al’s arm and went to follow her.

She walked down a corridor to the side of the Great Hall, muttering to herself. Scorpius caught something about ‘I send them to do a simple task…’

They followed Liza as she walked up to a portrait of a fruit basket and tickled a pear. The pear turned into a doorknob and Liza stepped inside. Before Al or Scorpius could move toward it, she came back out holding a cake.

‘Where’d you find out about that?’ Al asked. Liza jumped practically out of her skin, barely saving the cake.

‘I asked around,’ she told them, breezing past.

‘Why didn’t you tell us?’ Scorpius asked, keeping pace with her easily.

‘You didn’t ask,’ she told them simply as they walked back through the portrait hole.

A few hours later, it was time for dinner.

‘Thanks for the birthday celebration,’ Rose thanked them. They had played chess and talked all afternoon.

‘No problem,’ Liza beamed. ‘I mean, I’m sure that you would halve liked my plan, but this worked out as well.’

Scorpius and Al rolled their eyes at each other and went to the Great Hall to eat.


	6. Six

The rest of the month passed fairly quickly and soon it was time for Halloween.

October thirty-first was on a Tuesday. The Great Hall wasn’t decorated when they went down for breakfast, but Al had heard from his brother that it would get better for dinner.

The owl post came in and Merlin flew down and landed in front of Scorpius.

‘Hey, Merlin,’ Al greeted him, offering a piece of toast to the bird.

Scorpius opened the envelope and found a note from his mother.

_Scorpius,_  
_Happy Halloween! I hope that you have fun today._  
_Your father returned this morning. I am going to update him on how you are doing. I’m sure he’ll be proud._  
_Love,_  
_Mother_

Suddenly losing his appetite, Scorpius pushed his plate away.

‘Scorpius?’ Al inquired through a mouthful of food. Scorpius just waved the letter at him.

‘Oh,’ Al understood after he read it. Scorpius moaned and his head fell forward and landed on the table. In more pain than he thought he would be in – he had landed on a few slices of bread but those weren’t as cushiony as they’d appeared – Scorpius wished that the table would just swallow him up.

‘Scorpius? Are you okay?’ Liza asked from behind him. He sat up and took the letter from Al so he wouldn’t show her, but she saw his face anyway.

‘Whoa, Scorpius, you look green. Are you alright?’ she asked as she sat next to him.

Scorpius didn’t trust himself to speak, so he just shrugged and got up from the table. He made his way through the crowds and was the first student in the Transfiguration classroom. He could hear the Howler now…

 _‘Going to ruin the family name, not living up to Malfoy standards…’_ His father’s voice rang in his ears. Hopefully his friends wouldn’t have to hear it if it arrived during break and he could open it alone.

His friends watched Scorpius warily through their two morning classes. Liza and Rose tried to ask what was wrong, but he didn’t want to drag them into his strange family issues. As soon as the bell released them from History of Magic, Scorpius practically ran to his dorm to be alone.

However, he was only alone for five minutes before the door opened and three people entered the room. Scorpius hadn’t moved from his prone position on the floor.

‘I think you should tell them,’ Al said.

‘Tell us what?’ Rose demanded, but Liza shushed her and sat down next to Scorpius.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked gently.

Scorpius sighed. He wasn’t going to be able to get out of it this time. ‘I should be in Slytherin,’ he told them bluntly. ‘My father was, my grandfather was, every Malfoy before me was in Slytherin.’

‘So, what’s the problem?’ Liza asked more tenderly.

Scorpius rolled over onto his back. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not in Slytherin. My mother’s going to tell my father today, so I thought I’d save you all from having to hear the Howler.’

‘Well, if you’re staying up here then we are too,’ Al told him stubbornly, plopping down on the floor.

‘What about lunch and all the stuff going on downstairs?’ The school had set up a few activities in the Entrance Hall for the students to enjoy between classes or during break and Scorpius didn’t want them to miss out on it all just for him. Professors Allen and Heineka had started the tradition since they were from the States, and they had both talked in their classes about what was going to be happening.

‘We’re your friends,’ Rose reminded him in her quiet way. ‘We would be missing out if we left you here.’

They remained in the empty dorm room, but didn’t have to wait long before Scorpius saw Magnus, his father’s eagle owl, soaring toward the tower. He felt nervous all over again as he got up to greet the bird.

_Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy_  
_Gryffindor Tower_  
_Hogwarts_

Scorpius wondered vaguely how hard it had been for his father to write ‘Gryffindor’ and his son’s name in the same address. The envelope wasn’t scarlet, but his hands shook all the same as he opened it. The note inside was short.

_Scorpius,_  
_I have heard about your sorting. I hope you are happy._  
_Sincerely,_  
_Your Father_

It wasn’t a Howler, but the short note didn’t offer him any encouragement either.

He hadn’t realised how badly he was shaking until Al steered him to his bed, looking concerned. Liza took the note and the others read it over her shoulder.

‘Well, that doesn’t seem too bad,’ Liza began tentatively.

Scorpius shook his head. ‘You don’t know my father,’ he told her, his voice cracking embarrassingly.

Al held the letter out to Scorpius, who shrugged. ‘Well then,’ Al concluded, crumpling it up and tossing it into the fire. ‘Now that’s over with, let’s go get some candy.’

Scorpius smiled slightly and got up with him, but his mind was with the letter that was now fuel for the fire. Was he _really_ in the right house?

In the Entrance Hall, there was candy set out in bowls on the tables, but if you took too much the bowl would take some of yours back. There were booths set up around the perimeter of the hall which distributed tricks or treats when students walked up to them.

‘Trick or treat.’ Liza walked up to one. A drawer popped open and Liza received a box of liquorice wands.

‘Excellent,’ she beamed, taking one out immediately. Al walked up right behind her and was given a floral bonnet.

During Potions class, they had a Guess the Potion contest. Scorpius correctly identified three potions, earning him a large pan of treacle tart and ten house points from Professor Heineka.

At the end of the day, Scorpius had gained a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans (a trick and a treat at the same time), a stick of Everlasting Taffy (as you keep pulling off pieces, the stick doesn’t shrink), a rock and a dirty sock from the booths. Rumours had been flying all afternoon, someone even said that Professor McGonagall had booked a troupe of dancing skeletons for dinner’s entertainment.

Once dinnertime actually arrived, the Great Hall was lavishly decorated. There were pumpkins, skeletons (though sadly, they did not dance), and everything that a traditional Hogwarts Halloween feast needed. The food was abundant and during the meal, the ghosts did some gliding formations and Nearly-Headless Nick reenacted his own death to tumultuous applause. Now that he wasn’t worried about getting a Howler from his father, Scorpius was able to enjoy himself greatly.

He should have known that it wouldn’t last. Bad things do come in threes, after all.

Scorpius and Al were walking back to the common room when Scorpius saw Ignotus, his grandfather’s owl, flying to the castle. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring out the window and wishing that he hadn’t eaten so much pudding.

As frightened as Scorpius had been of his father’s reaction, he was absolutely terrified of his grandfather’s.

Al had walked a few meters ahead before he realised that Scorpius had stopped. There was a retching sound coming from somewhere, and when Al rushed back to his side Scorpius realised that it was coming from himself. There was only air for a moment, but then his stomach found the pudding and that started coming up.

Al looked around for a moment, unsure of what to do, before he settled on holding Scorpius’s shoulder and avoiding the mess. Rose and Liza appeared and immediately ran to find a teacher. Scorpius was grateful that they were in a secluded corridor – no one else appeared.

Once he was done, Scorpius leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, eyes closed. Professor Longbottom arrived, Rose, and Liza right behind him. He vanished the remains of Scorpius’s dinner and knelt next to him.

‘Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?’ he asked gently. Scorpius shook his head, eyes still closed. Ignotus hooted impatiently and dropped the letter on Scorpius’s lap before taking off again. Scorpius opened his eyes and eyed the envelope warily. At least it wasn’t scarlet.

Professor Longbottom looked at it as well, then back into Scorpius’s face. ‘Is there anything you wish to share?’

He looked genuinely concerned, Scorpius almost told him.

‘No.’

He looked at Scorpius closely, but didn’t press. ‘Get some water, and more food. You three, make sure he’s okay. Come get me if you need anything.’ He pushed Scorpius’s hair off his sweaty forehead and looked into his face once more before leaving. Once Professor Longbottom was gone, Scorpius pushed the letter away from him.

‘I don’t want to touch it,’ he said raspily, his throat still raw.

Al sat on one side and put his arm around Scorpius’s shoulders. Liza joined on the other side and held his hand. Scorpius closed his eyes as Rose picked up the letter carefully in case something was inside.

Scorpius heard the sound of parchment being unfolded and Rose’s voice began to read.

‘“Scorpius, I have heard about your Sorting. I am sincerely disappointed and we shall discuss this at Christmas. I look forward to seeing you then. Signed, Your Grandfather”.’

Scorpius felt his stomach heave again. It was a good thing it had emptied itself earlier, otherwise the remains would have wound up on Al.

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s too mad,’ Al began, but Scorpius shook his head. His grandfather knew so much magic. He could put a spell on Scorpius that would cause him to forget all about his new friends, maybe even one that would make him switch to Slytherin when he got back to Hogwarts.

‘Looks like I’m not going to his house at Christmas,’ Scorpius said, getting up shakily. Al put his arm around Scorpius’s waist and Scorpius put his arm around Al’s shoulders, grateful for the support as he walked.

They made it up to Gryffindor Tower and Scorpius collapsed on his bed, wishing that it would just swallow him up or that he would wake up and realise that it had all just been one terrible dream and it was Halloween morning once again.

Al, Scorpius, Liza and Rose all got changed into their pyjamas and sat in the boys’ dormitory together. Scorpius told them about his childhood and all about his family. Liza told them all what it was like growing up as a Muggle. Rose and Al shared stories from being in such a large wizarding family. They stayed there until Rose fell asleep and Liza had to lead her back to their beds. Al and Scorpius stayed up later and continued to talk until they were both too tired to continue.

‘Thanks for listening,’ Scorpius said sheepishly. ‘You still want to hang around me?’

Al grinned. ‘For your pants.’


	7. Seven

Two days later, Scorpius woke up to Al beating him with a pillow and yelling ‘Happy birthday!’ Scorpius was still groggy when he woke up, so Al continued to hit him.

‘Alright, alright, I’m up,’ Scorpius yawned, sitting up.

‘Open mine first,’ Al demanded, throwing a parcel at Scorpius. It hit him in the stomach and Scorpius caught it with an ‘Oof.’

‘Sorry.’

Scorpius tore off the paper to reveal a box of sweets and a picture frame. The picture inside the frame was of the two of them, arms around each other, smiling and waving. Scorpius remembered when Liza took that picture – it was on the day of the first Quidditch match.

‘Thanks,’ Scorpius beamed, putting the frame on his bedside table. Al grinned.

The pile at the foot of Scorpius’s bed claimed his attention then. A long tube from his dorm mates contained a poster of the British World Cup Quidditch team. It was odd for Scorpius to look at the picture of Harry Potter and know just how good the likeness was.

A box from his Greengrass family contained biscuits spelling ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY!’ in red and gold lettering. Scorpius smiled as he took one and popped it in his mouth. ‘APPY BIRTHDAY!’

The package from his Malfoy grandparents was handled with extreme care. When the wrapping fell away, it revealed a book.

‘Someone got you a book?’ Al asked, peering at Scorpius’s pile of presents.

‘ _Great Slytherins and their Lives_ ,’ Scorpius read with disgust. ‘Into the fire this one goes,’ he said, tossing it aside.

The last package was from his parents. Scorpius opened it and found a scrapbook and camera.

_Scorpius,_  
_Happy Birthday!_  
_We hope that your school year is going very well and can’t wait to see you at Christmas._  
_Love,_  
_Mother and Father_

Scorpius smiled to himself as he picked up the camera and snapped a picture of Al.

‘What was that for?’ Al complained as Scorpius sniggered.

They bantered all the way down to breakfast where Scorpius’s comeback was cut off by Liza and Rose flying at him.

‘Happy birthday!’ they chorused, handing him presents and giving him hugs.

‘Thanks,’ he grinned, opening them to reveal a box of sugar quills from Liza and a book on potions from Rose. He stowed them in his bag and grabbed a handful of bacon to stuff in his mouth.

During Transfiguration, Scorpius was able to turn a beetle into a button perfectly, earning him five points to Gryffindor, plus another five with a wink and a smile from Professor Poole for his birthday.

Unfortunately, the excellent start to Scorpius’s day didn’t spill over into his Charms class.

It was easily the worst class Scorpius had ever had. Scorpius knew that Professor Turpin had never really liked him, but he never knew the reason behind it – he just tried to make sure he was extra good in her class.

Today, however, nothing seemed to be going right. They were supposed to be practicing the _Wingardium Leviosa_ spell, but he just couldn’t master the wrist movement and he was saying the incantation wrong. After fifteen minutes, Professor Turpin snapped and she yelled at him.

‘Get out of my classroom, Scorpius Malfoy. I thought that the son of a Death Eater would be able to understand this simple spell, after all I’m sure your father’s taught you much more from _his_ school days.’

The class went deadly silent. Everyone watched as Professor Turpin pointed to the door and walked back to her desk.

‘Did I tell the rest of you to stop?’ she barked at the class. There was a buzz that filled the room as everyone started practicing again.

Scorpius sat motionless for a moment, stunned. He recovered quickly though and gathered his things in a daze before leaving as quickly as possible.

He left the room and walked a few steps down the corridor before he realised that he was shaking violently. He sank down against the wall and tried to calm himself down.

So that was why Professor Turpin didn’t like him. Why did she hate him for something that his father had done? Why did she think that his father would have taught him evil spells? Why did she think she could insult him like that?

Scorpius started at that thought and wondered again why the hat had listened to him when he asked to be put in Gryffindor when he obviously didn’t belong. He sat against the wall, deep in thought, and didn’t notice that the bell had rung until people were walking past him. His fellow Gryffindors, and even most of the Hufflepuffs, from his Charms class gave him some encouragement as they walked past. Rose was the first of his friends to reach him.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked, kneeling next to him. He barely had time to shrug before Liza and Al appeared, both of them insulting Professor Turpin in every way they could think of.

‘I can’t believe that she said that.’

‘She’s just a stubborn old–’

‘Guys,’ Scorpius cut them off, having reached his decision. ‘Let’s go get lunch.’

They watched him closely through lunch, but Scorpius gave them no reason to worry. In his time alone, Scorpius had decided on his course of action. He would just treat Professor Turpin like Rachael – with respectful ignorance.

Scorpius hoped that his bad day was over, and he was mostly right. Defense Against the Dark Arts went spectacularly, as well as Herbology. The only downside was that Rachael’s glare burned another hole into the side of his face during Potions, so he didn’t dare talk to Jason.

Once classes were finished, Scorpius went up to his room to sort through his presents. After the craziness that was Rose’s birthday, Scorpius really hoped that Liza hadn’t planned anything crazy for his own birthday. And to his luck, it seemed that she hadn’t. They spent most of the evening playing Exploding Snap, and then over the weekend it expanded into a tournament that included most of the House and set three curtains on fire.

Once the next Monday came, Scorpius had a chance to put Operation ‘Don’t Anger Professor Turpin’ into action. The entire class entered the Charms room into a tense atmosphere. Professor Turpin came in as the bell rang and ordered them all to turn in their homework. As Scorpius had been sent out, she didn’t expect him to have it and so skipped him. However, Liza had helped him out.

‘Professor?’ he asked, raising his hand. As Professor Turpin turned, one could hear a pin drop in the silent room. ‘You didn’t collect my homework.’

Without a word, she strode over to collect it and returned to her desk. ‘I would like to see all of you practicing. At the end of class, I will come around and asses each of you individually.’

Scorpius, with Rose’s help, had gotten the hang of the spell, so he was ready when Professor Turpin began her rounds. As she went around the room, she gave the students advice and various pointers. When she was done helping Rose, she moved to stand in front of Scorpius.

‘Mr Malfoy.’

The whole class seemed to hold its breath and watch as Scorpius concentrated and flicked his wrist.

‘ _Wingardium Leviosa_.’ The feather he was supposed to be levitating flew up – he performed the spell better than he ever had before. Once he was done, he didn’t dare look up until he heard her speak again.

‘Mr Potter, let’s see how you’re doing.’

Scorpius was a little put out that she hadn’t said anything, but that meant that she hadn’t insulted him again either. He glanced over when Rose put a hand on his shoulder to see her smiling and Liza giving him a thumbs up.

The following weekend was the next Quidditch match – Hufflepuff v. Slytherin. Unfortunately, Saturday morning was dark and raining. Everyone watched the windows during breakfast with high hopes of it stopping, but by the time the teams left for the pitch the sky was letting loose in a torrential downpour.

Such was the school’s love of Quidditch that every student was making their way to the pitch, heads bent against the rain. Before Scorpius and his friends even made it to the stands, they were soaked to the bone.

‘Hopefully it will be a quick game,’ Rose voiced what was on most of their minds.

They sat in the Gryffindor section with the other first years and were debating what to do first after the game – food or warm, dry clothes? – when a few third years sat behind them. They included Al’s brother James, Edward’s brother Nikolai, Allyson’s brother Dorian Wood, and two of their friends – Juliet Black and Zeren Parkinson.

‘Hey, Al,’ James greeted them, clapping his brother on the back. ‘Why are you all wet?’

‘Why aren’t you?’ Edward asked his own brother.

‘Here,’ Zeren took pity on the younger Gryffindors. She cast two quick charms and Scorpius felt himself warm up instantly. He looked down and saw that the rain just slid off of him rather than absorbing into his cloak.

‘Thank you,’ he smiled, glad to be able to enjoy the game now.

‘My pleasure,’ she grinned back before casting the same charms on the rest of the first years.

Scorpius turned his attention to Fred and the commentary, voice strangely muted due to the rain.

‘And here’s the Slytherin team! Captain Montague, Chasers Baddock, Higgs and Betchley, Beaters Pucey and Bole, and Seeker Flint!

Scorpius recognised the captain’s name as the big Slytherin bloke that had almost punched him. He scanned the Slytherin cheering section to see if Jason was there. He was, right next to Rachael. Scorpius grimaced and turned his attention back to the game, which was about to start.

The sound of Madam Hooch’s whistle was lost in a sudden clap of thunder. The wind kicked up and Scorpius found that while his cloak didn’t get wet, the clothes underneath still could. He struggled to rearrange his cloak again, and judging by the swearing coming from around him his fellow Gryffindors were discovering the same flaw in their protection.

The weather steadily got worse as the match wore on. Scorpius was thoroughly soaked once more when he saw gold and green figures dive together. The green one came up with its fist raised.

‘Slytherin wins 160-20!’ Fred’s voice was barely audible over the crescendo of the storm. ‘Good match, now Headmistress McGonagall asks that everyone return to the castle as quickly as possible!’ A flash of lightning illuminated the sky and Scorpius saw the stands emptying quickly as everyone rushed to get back into the warm, dry castle.

The Gryffindors were making their way up the slippery stairs to the castle when Scorpius felt himself suddenly falling backwards. With a crash, he landed at the base of the stairs, hitting the back of his head on the stone and completely crushing his left arm. He looked up through the darkness creeping in on the edges of his vision and saw Rachael standing in the doorway to the castle, wand raised, with an evil smirk on her face. He faintly heard Al, Rose, and Liza calling his name, but he couldn’t respond before the darkness took over.

\---

When Scorpius woke up, he saw that he was in the Hospital Wing with his left arm in a splint and a massive headache.

‘Ugh,’ he moaned as he attempted to sit up.

‘Hey now,’ a voice chided him as a hand pushed him back to the pillow. ‘Madam Boot said that you need to rest.’

Scorpius rolled over to find the source of the voice and hand to see Al sitting next to him and looking rather like he had recently climbed out of a swimming pool. Scorpius looked down at himself and saw that he was still in his wet robes as well.

‘How long was I out?’ he asked, slurring his words slightly. His grin turned into a grimace when pain shot through his head.

‘Not too long, just an hour or so,’ Al informed him, voice shaking slightly. Scorpius looked closer and saw that Al was rather pale.

‘Are you okay?’

Al grinned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘Yeah, it’s just cold in here. Madam Boot said for you to drink that one when you woke up, you need a little more sleep,’ he informed Scorpius, pointing at a potion.

‘Cheers.’ Scorpius swigged the potion and felt himself falling back asleep. Just before he went under, he heard Al speaking. Eyes closed, Scorpius strained his ears and fought to stay awake.

‘For the love of Merlin, Scorpius, don’t scare me like that again. I don’t want to lose my best friend,’ Al said in a strange voice, placing a hand on Scorpius’s shoulder as Scorpius lost the fight and slipped back under.

When Scorpius awoke again, he was still in the Hospital Wing but he had gained a few visitors.

‘Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,’ Liza greeted him.

‘Er, what?’ Scorpius looked at her, confused, and noticed Al and Rose questioning Liza’s sanity as well.

‘Are you calling Scorpius beautiful?’ Al asked, trying to hold back his laughter.

‘No! It’s a Muggle fairy tale…’ Liza defended herself, blushing and fiddling with her pink headband again as her voice trailed off.

Scorpius allowed himself a grin, relieved to find that it didn’t cause him pain anymore. He saw that Liza and Rose were in dry clothes while he and Al were still sopping wet. He opened his mouth to ask them why when Madam Boot seemed to sense that he was awake once more and bustled over, putting an end to the conversation. She waved Liza and Rose out the door, but she didn’t attempt to make Al leave. Instead she greeted him with, ‘You’re still here, are you?’ and he responded with a steely gaze and nod.

‘You’ve suffered a concussion,’ she explained to Scorpius, tenderly examining the back of Scorpius’s head. ‘You are over it now, but be cautious and come back to me if anything seems to regress.’ She seemed to be addressing Al as well as Scorpius.

‘Your arm, however,’ she focused on Scorpius once more, shifting her attention from his head to his left arm. He winced when she gingerly prodded his wrist and the middle of his forearm. ‘You shattered your radius and one or two carpel bones in your wrist dislocated and fractured,’ she informed Scorpius, who had no idea what she was talking about. She seemed to notice, because she continued in a different manner. ‘You broke one of your forearm bones and some of the small bones in your wrist fractured and moved where they shouldn’t.’ Scorpius nodded, that time he understood.

‘I’ve mended the bones, but you have some nerve damage around here,’ she informed him, tracing a circle on his arm so gently he didn’t feel it. ‘And the ligaments that attach your bones together in your wrist suffered as well. Both of those issues need time to heal naturally. You’ll spend the next few months being very cautious – your arm needs all the help it can get. In addition, I expect to see you here every day so that I can give you your daily dose of potions. If you are going home for the Christmas Holiday, I will give you an extended supply for that time,’ she informed Scorpius, offering no room for argument.

‘Do I have to stay overnight?’ Scorpius asked. He didn’t want Rachael to think that she had beaten him.

Madam Boot looked into Scorpius’s eyes and saw the determination there. ‘As long as you take these potions and wear this sling until I tell you that you may go without it,’ she said, producing potions and a sling and setting them on Scorpius’s bedside table. ‘I’ll let you two get changed now,’ she excused herself to her office after drawing the curtains around Scorpius’s bed. Al helped Scorpius get changed into dry clothes and then got changed himself. Scorpius noticed that Al still looked pale, though not as bad as he had been.

Scorpius swigged his potions and slipped his arm into the sling, rendering it completely useless. He looked at Al, who nodded and they walked out of the Hospital Wing and right into Professor Longbottom.

‘Ah, Scorpius, I am glad to see that you are feeling better,’ he smiled at Scorpius. ‘On a more serious matter, Albus here told me that you were going up the stairs when you fell backward. How did you fall?’ he asked seriously.

‘I slipped,’ Scorpius told him, not wanting to tell the truth.

‘Mr Malfoy, you were bent forward. You could not have fallen backwards so quickly and easily,’ Professor Longbottom saw right through his story. ‘Did you see who your attacker was?’

‘No,’ Scorpius lied again, hoping that it was more convincing this time. ‘I blacked out when I hit my head.’

Professor Longbottom looked sceptical, but he let it go, turning to address Al. ‘I hear that you never left your post. I hope that you at least allowed Madam Boot to examine you as well.’ Al nodded, not quite meeting Professor Longbottom’s gaze, but it seemed to appease him. ‘Very good, then. Get back to the Great Hall for dinner, I’m sure you are both hungry.’

The boys nodded and had walked along a few corridors toward the Great Hall when Al stopped.

‘You saw who made you fall, didn’t you?’ he accused bluntly.

Scorpius was caught off guard. ‘How do you know?’

‘You were shuffling your left foot – you do that when you’re not telling the whole truth.’

Scorpius was surprised – he hadn’t suspected that anyone would have noticed that particular habit of his. ‘Well, yeah then, I saw who it was.’

‘Do you want to tell me?’

Scorpius shook his head. He didn’t want to drag Al into his issues with Rachael. ‘You lied too,’ he shifted the attention off of himself. ‘You didn’t look Professor Longbottom in the eye when you said that you got checked. Did you?’

Al shrugged. ‘I don’t need it, I feel fine.’

Scorpius changed the subject. ‘Both Professor Longbottom and Madam Boot said something about you not leaving, and you were all wet when I woke up both times.’

‘Yeah, I asked Liza and Rose to get some dry clothes for us,’ Al hedged answering the question Scorpius had subtly asked.

‘Why didn’t you go with?’

‘I wasn’t about to leave my best friend when he’s lying unconscious in the Hospital Wing and I don’t know if he’ll be okay!’

Scorpius glanced at Al and saw his cheeks flushing at the sudden outburst of emotion. Scorpius didn’t know what to say or how to convey how much it meant to him. When Scorpius had come to Hogwarts, he had expected to be shunned and made an outcast – first because of his name and then because of his house. After a moment of deliberation, Scorpius said ‘Thanks,’ and he tried to pack as much meaning as he could into that one word.

Al seemed to get it. ‘Yeah, well, what are friends for?’


	8. Eight

Scorpius quickly found that Rachael had picked a rather inopportune time to break his arm. Scorpius was left-handed, and of course all the teachers decided that the best early Christmas present for the students would be a large pile of essays and homework to do. Scorpius pled his case to Professor Longbottom and he had shown Scorpius how to charm his quill so that it would write for him as he dictated.

In the days following the Quidditch match, Scorpius noticed Al looking paler and slower. Whenever Scorpius would ask him about it, Al just said that he was fine, even when Scorpius tried to tell him that he obviously wasn’t. Al just continued to make sure that Scorpius was feeling okay.

‘You prat, stop worrying so much about me and just go to the bloody Hospital Wing,’ was Scorpius’s usual response whenever Al asked how he was feeling.

Al refused right up until he fell fast asleep in Transfiguration that Wednesday and Professor Poole had Scorpius escort him to the Hospital Wing. Madam Boot examined Al and discovered that he had caught pneumonia the previous Saturday. Al tried to shrug it off when she gave him a potion and told him that he would be spending the night.

 ‘Why the bloody hell didn’t you actually have her check you on Saturday?’ Scorpius scolded him.

Al just grimaced and told Scorpius that he would be fine and that Scorpius should go back to class.

‘Fine,’ Scorpius replied stubbornly. ‘But I’m going to be back here as soon as they’re done.’

Al smiled weakly and when Scorpius returned they spent their evening talking about how glad they were that they would be missing Astronomy. When Madam Boot came in to tell Al to go to sleep, she saw that Scorpius was there and gave him a small smile before handing him his potions and nodding at the bed next to Al.

The next day, Al woke up brightly and feeling better while Scorpius woke up groggily and found that he had slept badly on his arm and it was feeling worse. Madam Boot gave Al his last potion and then she gave Scorpius an extra one for the pain and sent then on their way.

December came and brought with it a blanket of snow for the castle and grounds of Hogwarts. Scorpius continued to take his potions, never forgetting after Madam Boot literally dragged him to the Hospital Wing just before curfew when he almost missed one day.

The first weekend in December was to host Gryffindor’s second Quidditch match – Gryffindor v. Hufflepuff. After watching Hufflepuff’s last match, Gryffindor was very confident – Hufflepuff had lost too many key players like Teddy Lupin and was not going to have a cup-winning season.

And the Gryffindor team did not disappoint. The beginning of the game was scary – Hufflepuff took a quick lead 60-20, but Gryffindor’s Seeker was far better than Hufflepuff’s and she caught the Snitch easily.

On the way back to Gryffindor Tower, Scorpius and Al were animatedly discussing Gryffindor’s standings in the Cup race when Merlin suddenly flew in and landed on Scorpius’s shoulder.

‘Hey,’ he greeted his bird, taking the letter and stroking Merlin’s beak before the owl flew up to the owlry. Curious who would write him that couldn’t wait till the morning, Scorpius opened the envelope. He saw his mother’s handwriting and read quickly on.

Al chatted away as Scorpius read, watching as Scorpius’s face progressed to horror. ‘What?’ he asked. He grabbed Scorpius’s arm, but leapt back when Scorpius cried out in pain – Al had grabbed Scorpius’s bad arm by mistake.

‘Sorry, sorry!’ Al danced on the spot, unsure of what to do.

‘’S okay,’ Scorpius muttered through clenched teeth.

‘What was in that letter?’ Al asked.

‘My mother’s going to America for Christmas,’ Scorpius said as they continued on their way.

‘That’s good,’ Al said slowly. ‘You’ve been saying that you want to go out there too.’

Scorpius shook his head. ‘She’s going alone. My father said he had to work and wanted to spend time with me. I’m not going to spend the holidays with just him!’ he thought aloud in fear. ‘What if he takes me to my Grandfather’s?’

Al saw that his friend was genuinely afraid of going home and gripped his shoulder bracingly. ‘Don’t worry; I’m sure we’ll think of something.’

Both boys decided to forgo the common room in favour of sitting in their dormitory at their desks. There was only the sound of scratching quills on parchment as each boy composed his letter home, neither thinking about how the other was dwelling on the same dilemma.

_Dear Mother and Father,_  
_I was actually thinking about staying here over the Christmas holiday. The castle’s amazing. Besides, my arm still hurts a bit and Madam Boot will probably want me to stay around to make sure that nothing bad happens._  
_I’ll see you both for the Easter holiday._  
_Love,_  
_Scorpius_

_Dear Mum and Dad,_  
_No, I’m not writing to you to tell you about what James did in the Entrance Hall last night. I have a more important question – is it okay if Scorpius comes over for the break? Otherwise he’s staying here and he’ll be alone for the whole holiday._  
_Thanks._  
_-Al_

\---

The next morning, both boys were pensive over breakfast. The girls were finally able to bring them back to Earth when they reentered the common room.

‘So,’ Liza asked. ‘What are you all doing for Christmas?’

‘I’m going back home,’ Rose said. ‘Ugh, I’m going to be attacked by Hugo as soon as my parents are done with me. He’ll want to know everything about Hogwarts.’

‘Lily’s going to be the same way,’ Al groaned with Rose. ‘I’m not going to have a moment’s peace.’

‘What about your brother?’ Liza asked as they settled down in front of the fire.

‘We both asked him stuff, but he wouldn’t talk much so we gave up.’

‘Well, I’ve been sending my family pictures, so that should help when it comes to story time,’ Liza laughed.

‘What about you, Scorpius?’ Rose asked. Al shifted anxiously, and Scorpius wondered why. Al already knew Scorpius’s predicament.

‘I’m staying here,’ Scorpius told the girls. At their bursts of surprise and incredulity, he continued. ‘My mother’s going to America and she’s leaving in a few days, so I can’t go. Besides, the castle’s really nice and I want to see it, plus Madam Boot might want me here because of my arm,’ he finished somewhat lamely. He knew that Rose and Liza would see right through his excuses. Rose placed a sympathetic hand on Scorpius’s shoulder.

‘I’ll stay with you,’ Liza immediately offered, but Scorpius vehemently shook his head.

‘I’m sure that your family will want to see you and hear all about your time here,’ he told her. ‘I’ll be fine; I’ve got plenty of books.’ He attempted a small grin and turned to the fire, ending the conversation. His friends understood and the conversation turned to why the owl post was so late.

‘It normally comes during breakfast,’ Al offered.

Liza rolled her eyes. ‘Your powers of observation _astound_ me. I was asking why it _didn’t_ come during breakfast today. It’s not like there’s a huge blizzard that they have to battle through.’

‘Well, we’d normally still be in breakfast,’ Rose observed, drawing their attention to the time and they saw that she was correct. ‘So maybe it will come up here sometime soon.’

The words were barely out of her mouth when owls came flying through the windows. Al received a letter on his lap and Merlin was back for Scorpius.

_Dear Scorpius,_  
_Your father was sorry to hear that you are staying at school, but he understands. We both remember how stunning the castle is during Christmastime – I’m sure you’ll enjoy it._  
 _I hope you are having a good time. How is your arm feeling? Is it close to being fully healed?_  
_Love,_  
_Mother_  
_PS. Between you and me, I know your real reason for not coming home, and I suppose I understand. Just remember that you’ll have to face him eventually. Have fun._

Scorpius grimaced sheepishly as he read his mother’s post script. He would have to get better at lying. He lamented the fact that he would be the only Gryffindor first year staying in the castle. He decided to ask Professor Heineka if he could use the Potions dungeons to test out some of the potions from the book Rose had given him to pass the time.

Scorpius was pulled out of his reverie as Al let out a whoop of joy. When he looked up questioningly, Al was beaming at him.

‘WannacomemyhouseChristmas?’ Al had spoken so quickly that Scorpius had absolutely no idea what he was trying to say.

‘Er, what?’

Al took a breath and repeated himself. ‘Wanna come to my house for Christmas?’

Scorpius couldn’t help the surge of joy he felt, but pessimistic side managed to control it.

‘You should probably ask your parents first,’ he joked, certain they would say no.

‘I already did,’ Al continued, waving his letter impatiently. ‘My mum said that it would be fine as long as you want to and your parents said okay.’

Scorpius let his joy show now. ‘I’ll write back now,’ he said, grabbing a quill and scribbling a note on a spare piece of parchment. He had to scrap the first one because it was completely illegible – he had instinctively started writing with his left hand, which promptly started to ache and remind him to charm his quill and dictate.

_Mother,_  
_Al invited me over for the holidays. Can I go?_  
_-Scorpius_

Scorpius gave it to Merlin and the owl took off. All of the Gryffindor first years agreed that the time was ripe for a snowball fight, so after lunch they all convened outside and started dividing into teams. It turned into a fight between Edward, Aiden, Jake, and Al as to who would be captains, so they all wound up drawing sticks that Scorpius held out. Then they discovered that Allyson and Liza were the captains. They divided up the group of Gryffindors and set about getting ready. Allyson gave Scorpius and Jake the responsibility of attacking the enemy base, so ten minutes later they found themselves making their way through the edge of the forest to the other fort.

Unfortunately, Aiden and Jessica seemed to be attempting the same manoeuvre on them. Scorpius heard their voices coming their way.

‘Bugger,’ he muttered, stopping Jake. ‘Okay, you keep going, I’ll distract them.’

Jake nodded and silently picked his way around Aiden and Jessica. Scorpius grabbed a stick and snapped it against his leg, drawing Aiden and Jessica’s attention to himself. He saw them looking and pointing at him, so he took off running in the open. Ignoring the pain this sent through his left arm, he readjusted the sling so he could move more freely. Whoever was in the enemy base started attacking him as well, so Scorpius tried to draw their attention away from where Jake would be sneaking up from behind them. Aiden and Jessica were still chasing him when the fort went silent and no more snowballs flew at him from there. Throwing caution to the wind, Scorpius went to investigate and found that Jake had taken over the base. Scorpius congratulated him and marveled that their improvised plan had worked. He fixed the sling and helped Jake prepare for retaliation, wishing that his right arm would suddenly get stronger and more accurate in the meantime.

They were surprised when no retaliation came. Jake and Scorpius were sitting in their newly acquired base and talking about school and Quidditch when Allyson came for them.

‘We won, you can come out now,’ she grinned, helping them up. The three of them walked back to join the others and they all trooped back inside to get ready for dinner.

The boys all shared the stories from their various experiences as they got dressed. The other four were all done before Scorpius – his arm was burning and that made it hard for him to change clothes quickly. Al stayed behind to wait for Scorpius before they joined the rest of the school at dinner.

After dinner, Scorpius made his way to the Hospital Wing for his daily dose of potions.

‘Anything new?’  Madam Boot asked, as usual, when Scorpius entered the Hospital Wing.

He was prepared to say no, like usual, but his ‘yes’ slipped out before he could stop it.

She looked up from administering a Pepperup Potion to a third year Slytherin and raised an eyebrow. Once the Slytherin left the Hospital Wing, Madam Boot directed Scorpius to a bed with a glare.

‘Where does it hurt?’ she asked, surprisingly gently after her glare.

‘It kind-of burns around here,’ Scorpius told her, indicating a spot on his arm.

Madam Boot took out her wand and waved it over Scorpius’s arm a few moments before sighing. ‘Tell me, were you wearing your sling properly the entire day?’

Scorpius felt his ears go red as he answered. ‘Well, no, not really.’

Madam Boot shook her head, though Scorpius saw that she was smiling. ‘Well, you’re lucky that you didn’t fall on it or anything. That could have set your recovery back a few months. As it is, you’ve set it back a couple weeks. Here,’ she handed Scorpius his potions, ‘and here’s a painkiller.’ She waved him out of her Hospital Wing after he downed his potions and took the extra with him.

When he made it back up to Gryffindor Tower, Al wasn’t in the common room. Scorpius waved to Jake, who was sitting at a table and working with Aiden and Edward. As he crossed the room, Scorpius saw Fred with that same calculating look on his face and dashed up the stairs, still too cowardly to confront him.

‘That took a while,’ Al greeted Scorpius when he walked through the door.

‘Yeah, I needed the painkiller tonight.’

Al nodded and pointed at a letter on Scorpius’s bed. ‘Merlin came up here while you were gone, he had that for you.’

Scorpius thanked him and picked it up as he sat down on his bed. Seeing that it was from his mother, Scorpius tore into it as quickly as he could manage without destroying the letter.

_Scorpius,_  
_As long as Al’s parents say it’s okay, I say go and have fun. Be sure to say thank you to Mr and Mrs Potter and clean up after yourself._  
_I can tell you’re excited – have fun._  
_Love,_  
_Mother_

Scorpius felt his face break into a huge smile. He looked over at Al who was pretending to look through a magazine, even though the magazine was upside down.

‘Looks like you’re stuck with me over the holiday,’ Scorpius grinned. Al abandoned his pretense and looked at Scorpius.

‘Really?’ Scorpius nodded and Al let out a whoop.

‘Yes! This is going to be the best Christmas ever!’

Scorpius laughed with Al and they both decided to forget about their homework for the moment and played chess the rest of the night.

By the next week, Christmas spirit was running rampant about the people and grounds of Hogwarts. The students woke up one day to find that the castle had been decorated overnight. There were glowing orbs everywhere and mistletoe had been placed in different corridors. The boys of Hogwarts quickly learned to avoid those spots and the crowds of girls that always gathered underneath. That evening, Hagrid was seen carrying twelve large Christmas trees into the Great Hall to be decorated.

Despite all the holiday cheer, the students still had two weeks of classes left in the term. It got harder and harder to concentrate as the weeks dragged on. Everyone just gave up in History of Magic, but Scorpius made sure to stay attentive in Charms. The whole class did, no one wanted a repeat of that memorable class period in November.

But, at long last, the first year Gryffindors were making their way to Herbology – their final class of the term. Professor Longbottom could sense the class’s distraction, and provided them with an interesting and Christmas-themed lesson. The bell rang and the Ravenclaws went to their last class while the Gryffindors celebrated their freedom.

That night, the chatter that filled the Great Hall was deafening as everyone celebrated the end of term. A few of the older Gryffindors threw a party in the common room after dinner and the first years joined in. The entire house was awake most of the night until Professor Longbottom showed up in his pyjamas at two in the morning and told them all to sleep. Even then, the first years couldn’t sleep so they sat up talking and playing games. Eventually, Jake was the first to sleep and Scorpius followed soon after.

The next morning, Scorpius was the first one to wake up. He vaguely wondered how late the others had stayed up as he got dressed. When he went downstairs to get some breakfast, he was glad that the train wouldn’t be leaving till the next day.

However, when he entered the Great Hall he found that it was lunch time. Regardless, Scorpius sat down to eat and was joined by Liza and Rose.

‘Good afternoon,’ Liza greeted him, grabbing a sandwich for herself. Scorpius just nodded sleepily in response.

Rose laughed. ‘I see you’ve caught Al’s bug – if he could, he’d sleep all day.’

Scorpius shrugged, still too groggy to respond. The girls just laughed and talked amongst themselves, letting Scorpius wake up.

When he finally was awake, Scorpius decided that he wanted to try out one or two of the potions in his book, so he went to Gryffindor Tower to retrieve it and then down to the dungeons to find Professor Heineka.

Luckily, she was in her office, so it was easy for Scorpius to ask her permission. She granted it and offered her help if he needed anything. He thanked her and went to get his cauldron ready.

Leafing through the book, Scorpius decided to try out a Confusing Concoction. He lit a fire under his cauldron and went to gather supplies. The issue quickly arose that there was no sneezewort in the students’ supply closet. Perplexed, Scorpius searched all through once more. He made it about halfway through when Professor Heineka appeared in the doorway.

‘The water in your cauldron was boiling over and spilling – I removed it from the fire,’ she informed him, watching his search mission. ‘Is there something I can help you find?’

‘How come sneezewort isn’t in here?’ Scorpius asked. ‘It’s not dangerous or anything.’

‘You’re correct,’ Professor Heineka agreed, leading him to another closet. ‘However, it is highly allergenic, and it’s just not used very often so I keep it in here,’ she explained, tapping her wand to open the door marked ‘Teacher’s Supply’.

Professor Heineka entered the room and Scorpius looked around. It was slightly larger than the students’ supply and had a variety of potion ingredients inside, from the innocent-looking Sopophorous Beans to the more sinister Hellebore.

‘As long as you ask, you may use ingredients from this closet,’ Professor Heineka told Scorpius as she walked back out, sneezewort in hand.

‘Thank you,’ Scorpius nodded before returning to his cauldron. All ingredients now accounted for, Scorpius began.

Twenty minutes later, Professor Heineka returned to see how Scorpius was getting along.

‘I think I’m done,’ he said, consulting his book. According to the instructions, the potion had to be a rusted orange colour, and Scorpius’s cauldron held orange liquid. ‘Is there any way to test it?’

‘I’m certain that you’ll find some way.’ She winked at him. ‘Five points to Gryffindor for an excellently concocted potion. Any time you want to try out another one, feel free to use this space as long as there is no class in session.’

Scorpius thanked her before siphoning some of his Confusing Concoction into a bottle and stoppering it, grinning as he planned who he would test it on.


	9. Nine

The train ride to King’s Cross Station was relatively uneventful, if you didn’t count Rose’s constant chess victories or Scorpius’s constant worrying as events.

Much too soon for one member of the compartment and not nearly soon enough for the rest, the Hogwarts Express was slowing as it pulled in to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Al, Rose, and Liza bounded off the train, excited to see their families again. Scorpius followed slowly; maybe the train could still take him back to Hogwarts.

Liza was the first to accost him. ‘Scorpius, hurry up. I want you to meet my family.’ She grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward three people, all watching Liza’s progress.

‘Mum, you remember Scorpius?’ Liza asked the woman Scorpius remembered from Madam Malkin’s in August.

Mrs Jacobs nodded and smiled. ‘It’s nice to see you again, Scorpius.’

‘You too, ma’am.’

Next, Scorpius turned to the man who had the same eyes as Liza as she introduced them. ‘Dad, this is my friend Scorpius Malfoy.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ Scorpius tried to smile as he shook hands with Mr Jacobs.

Just then, Scorpius felt a hand on his shoulder and he was being dragged away by someone else. Liza laughed. ‘See you guys later!’ she called at Scorpius and Al’s receding backs. Before Scorpius could protest, he was standing in front of the Potters and Weasleys.

Mercifully, Mr Potter broke the silence. ‘It’s good to see you again, Scorpius,’ he smiled as he held out his hand. ‘I hope your classes are going well.’

‘Th-they are, thank you, Mr Potter,’ Scorpius stammered as he shook Harry Potter’s hand. He then turned to Mrs Potter to shake her hand, but she swept him into a quick hug before he could say anything.

‘I’m glad to finally meet you, Scorpius,’ she smiled.

‘Thanks, Mrs Potter,’ Scorpius said through clenched teeth, wincing slightly from the pain in his left arm.

Mrs Potter looked instantly horrified. ‘Oh my goodness, I’m sorry.’

‘It’s okay, it’s been hurting for a little while now,’ Scorpius lied. He was getting better at it. ‘I have some potions to take for it.’ Scorpius noticed Al eying him questioningly, but thankfully he didn’t say anything.

Mrs Potter smiled as Scorpius was turned to his next introduction. He recognised James and assumed that the redhead next to him was Lily, Al’s younger sister. She immediately ducked behind Mr Potter shyly.

‘James, you should recognise Scorpius. Lily, this is my friend Scorpius.’

James smiled and shook Scorpius’s hand while Lily eyed him curiously from behind her father. Scorpius smiled in what he hoped was a non-intimidating way before he was shifted to the next family member.

‘Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, this is Scorpius,’ Al introduced them all. Mrs Weasley smiled warmly as she shook his hand but Mr Weasley’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Scorpius’s smile faltered a bit and he felt his ears grow warm. He saw Mrs Weasley shoot a warning look at Mr Weasley as Scorpius turned to Rose.

‘Hey Scorpius,’ she greeted him. ‘This is my brother, Hugo.’

Hugo, a boy who had the same flaming red hair as his father, smiled broadly as he shook Scorpius’s hand. ‘I’ll be going to Hogwarts in two years too!’ he announced.

‘Excellent,’ Scorpius grinned. Before he could say anything more, Al steered him back to the Potters and asked when they were leaving.

‘Are you boys ready?’ Mrs Potter asked. Al nodded vigourously and Scorpius laughed at him.

Alright, let’s go then.’ Mr Potter took Lily’s hand and led the way off the platform to the parking lot.

Scorpius wondered briefly how they were all going to fit in the car that the Potters were walking toward, but then he heard Mrs Potter asking her husband if he had modified the expansion charm to include another person and their things. Mr Potter affirmed that he had, so they were all able to pile in quite comfortably.

Mr Potter drove for about two hours. Scorpius enjoyed watching the passing countryside as they drove – he lived on the opposite side of England and had never been west of London before. When they pulled into the driveway of a modest home in a Muggle-looking area, he was surprised at how far they had travelled in only two hours. However, he figured, the expansion charm probably wasn’t the only magical enhancement the Potters had made to their car. Mr Potter helped the boys unload their things while Mrs Potter took Lily inside to begin getting tea ready.

Al led Scorpius through the house and up two flights of stairs (Scorpius was glad he had opted to bring his rucksack as Al struggled to push his own trunk up) before opening the door to his room. They were almost at the very top of the house; Al told him that there was only the attic above them. Scorpius set down his things and went to look out the window. He could see the entire neighbourhood through one window, and there was an excellent view of a lake through the other. When Scorpius turned back to Al, he saw that his friend was nervous.

‘It’s not much,’ he started rambling before Scorpius could say anything. ‘I mean, everyone calls it “Potter Mansion” and all, but I’m sure that your house is much bigger and your room probably is too and–’

‘It’s great,’ Scorpius cut him off mid ramble with a smile. Al relaxed and smiled back.

\---

After tea, the entire family made a trip to the lake nearby to do some skating. Scorpius was getting nervous – he had never gone ice skating before – but Lily walked with him and chatted away, so he soon forgot about his fears. Instead of dwelling on last names, he talked with Lily and they both were the first on the ice. Al and James took a little while to get their feet under them, but Lily flew by like she was born on the ice. Scorpius tried twice and gave it up as a lost cause, so he sat down on the bank with Mrs Potter.

‘Have you ever skated before?’ she asked when he sat down.

Scorpius grimaced. ‘No, never. I thought it would be wise to sit down before I fall and mess up my arm even more.’

‘Smart decision,’ she observed with a smile.

Scorpius and Mrs Potter talked together on the edge of the lake until Mr Potter came to claim his wife. She protested, but he just picked her up and carried her onto the ice. Scorpius laughed along with Mr Potter. He was pleasantly surprised that he was fitting in with the family better than he had anticipated.

About thirty minutes later, the guys all decided to have a snowball fight. Lily and Mrs Potter stayed at the lake to watch as the boys gathered together. James vehemently opposed being on the same team as Al, but he didn’t want Al and Scorpius to be on the same team either. He also complained about being on Scorpius’s team – with Scorpius’s arm in a sling – so Mr Potter put a silencing charm on James and turned to the other two.

‘What do you two want to do?’

Scorpius shrugged and Al just laughed at James, who was unable to make a sound.

‘Okay, I have a number between one and ten behind my back. Whoever guesses closest to my number is with me and the other is with James.’

‘Five,’ Al guessed.

‘Two?’

Mr Potter held out his hands – he was holding up seven fingers. Al grinned and moved to join his father. Scorpius moved towards James timidly, but James seemed to have forgotten his earlier complaints as he launched into a battle plan.

‘Okay, so we are at a slight disadvantage but here’s what we’re going to do.’

Scorpius listened to his plan, but he had already thought up one of his own. When James was done, Scorpius offered his own.

‘Hm.’ James looked thoughtful, a grin growing on his face. ‘I like it. Let’s get going.’

The two boys immediately got to work building their fort. Ten minutes later, Al and Mr Potter shot up red sparks, signalling that the battle was to begin. They both knew James, so they knew he was going to attack and waited for it to come. Five minutes later they had neither seen nor heard Scorpius or James, so they decided to go on the offensive. Both Al and Mr Potter snuck around to James and Scorpius’s fort and rushed at it together, but stopped short. The fort was empty.

Al was looking around confusedly when he saw James and Scorpius sitting in the house and watching them. When they saw that Al was looking, they raised steaming mugs of hot chocolate to him and Scorpius pointed at two mugs sitting on the table. Scorpius saw Al give a shout of laughter and call Mr Potter over to join them.

‘You do realise that this means we win,’ Al toasted James and Scorpius, taking a swig of hot chocolate.

‘Of course it doesn’t,’ James argued. ‘We made the hot chocolate for you, so we win.’

‘Sure, what were we talking about?’ Al asked, looking dazed. Scorpius sniggered, causing Al to turn to him. ‘Hey, Scorpius! I’m glad to see you didn’t get hurt again while we were out skating. When did we get back here? And where’re Mum and Lily?’

James and Scorpius were cracking up by now. Mr Potter took the mug that was sitting out for him and muttered a spell over it. Seeming to find that there was nothing added to his, he took a drink before turning to the laughing boys.

‘A Confusing Concoction?’ he asked matter-of-factly. Scorpius could tell that he knew, but he didn’t seem angry so Scorpius nodded, pulling out the bottle.

Mr Potter examined it for a moment before handing it back. ‘That is an excellently brewed potion, well done Scorpius. Did you make that in Potions class?’

Scorpius shook his head. ‘Rose gave me a book of Potions for my birthday and I had some free time yesterday, so I wanted to try it out.’

Mr Potter smiled. ‘Did James talk you into testing out your potion on his younger brother?’

James was immediately on the defensive. ‘No! It was his idea.’ Mr Potter just looked at him and James deflated a bit. ‘Well, it was his idea to come in here and make the hot chocolate. If we had stayed outside, I wouldn’t’ve gotten the idea to use his Confusing Concoction…’

Scorpius excused himself, grinning, to make more hot chocolate for Mrs Potter and Lily, who he saw making their way back from the lake. He took the two new mugs to the girls as they entered the house and sat off to the side, listening to the family banter and laughing as the effects of his potion on Al wore off.

‘Scorpius.’ Mrs Potter suddenly turned to him and making him jump. ‘Did you make this hot chocolate?’ Caught off guard, Scorpius could only nod. ‘What is in it?’

Worried that she thought it tasted terrible, Scorpius felt his ears and neck flush as he addressed his own mug. ‘It’s the way my mother always makes it – warm milk with chocolate, cinnamon, peppermint and… butterbeer.’

‘It tastes wonderful. I want you to show me how to make it,’ she declared. Scorpius looked up in surprise and saw that her mug was empty.

‘N-now?’

She smiled. ‘Of course. I’ve already finished my first mug and I want more.’

Scorpius grinned, still a little shocked, and walked into the kitchen with her. He made another mug for himself and walked her through the process as she made her own fresh mug. Luckily they both moved at the same pace – Scorpius because his arm made it hard and Mrs Potter because she was learning. Right after that lesson Scorpius wrote a letter to his mother to let him know that he had arrived safely and he hoped that Aunt Daphne and her family were well. When he returned to the kitchen, Mrs Potter had begun making the stew for dinner and Scorpius asked if he could help. He had always enjoyed cooking with Grennie – maybe that was why he loved Potions so much.

As the duo worked in the kitchen, they were joined by the youngest member of the family. At first, Lily just sat in the corner and watched, but then she started asking questions. The questions ranged from Scorpius’s favourite Quidditch team to what the teachers were like at Hogwarts. He vaguely wondered if she interrogated every guest like this as he answered all her questions. She would have continued through the meal, but Mrs Potter stopped her when it was ready and told her to help them get the table ready.

At the beginning of the meal, Mr Potter started talking with James about Quidditch and Scorpius listened in. The current Seeker, Ashley Vera, was a seventh year and Scorpius was hoping to join the team next year.

‘Practices are going great – we’re all excited,’ James was saying. ‘We won both of our matches so far this year, and our next isn’t until May – against the Slytherins.’

Mr Potter smiled. ‘Ah, I remember those matches. There was so much animosity between the houses, especially,’ Scorpius saw him shoot a half glance in his direction, ‘between myself and Mr Malfoy. I never lost a match to him, though,’ Mr Potter grinned. ‘However, he did get me a “lifetime ban” in our fifth year – luckily that didn’t last very long.’

‘I remember that,’ Mrs Potter joined the conversation, bringing Al and Lily with her. ‘That evil Umbridge hag gave you a lifetime ban, so you were captain the next year.’ Everyone around the table laughed.

Scorpius grinned. ‘Weren’t people from both houses attacking each other in the corridors?’

Everyone glanced at Scorpius and quickly back to Mr Potter – this was the first time Scorpius had voluntarily spoken comfortably in front of them all together. Mr and Mrs Potter seemed pleased.

Mr Potter grinned encouragingly. ‘Yeah, I remember Oliver ordering us all to stay in packs during my third year. Especially me – the Seeker. I don’t know how I got to classes on time with so many people crowding around me,’ he laughed.

‘How are your professors lately?’ Mrs Potter asked Al. ‘You told me in October that they were good, but you haven’t said anything since.’

‘They’re all awesome! Well,’ he hesitated, glancing at Scorpius who looked at his pudding. ‘Except for Professor Turpin.’

Mr Potter saw the glance and cocked an eyebrow, but Mrs Potter continued. ‘Even Professor Binns?’

Al pulled a face. ‘Ugh, of course not! I just try to forget about that class.’ Everyone laughed, but Scorpius could only manage a smile. Thinking of Professor Turpin made Scorpius think of his family. Luckily, they were finished and Mrs Potter volunteered Al and James to help clean up the dishes, so Scorpius followed Lily into the sitting room. She found a book to read, so Scorpius sat on the couch and watched the fire.

‘Care for a game of chess?’ Mr Potter offered, pulling out the board and pieces from a drawer.

Scorpius grinned. ‘Sure.’

Mr Potter sprawled on the ground and set the game up. Scorpius laughed to himself – if he hadn’t known better, he might have thought that Mr Potter was Al’s brother rather than his father.

Their game began to the soundtrack of James swearing loudly in the kitchen. Mr Potter looked at the door to the kitchen, but he shrugged and turned back to the game, saying he was sure that Mrs Potter had it covered. Scorpius laughed and Mr Potter grinned as well as his rook took Scorpius’s bishop.

Their match continued, only pausing for a moment when James stormed through the room. Mr Potter looked up and watched his son’s progress through the room. When the door to the stairs shut behind James, Mr Potter just shrugged again and returned his attention to the game.

As it was drawing to a close, Mr Potter was winning. However, Scorpius launched a campaign involving his only remaining bishop, rook and two very daring pawns and he wound up winning.

‘Checkmate!’ he cheered as Mrs Potter and Al entered. The occupants of the room looked up to them for some explanation of James’s behaviour. Al was laughing too hard, so Mrs Potter told them.

‘Zeren sent her owl over and it hit the window, making him jump. He had a knife in his hand at the time, so that was the first cause of swearing. I healed it up just fine, but once he finished he opened the letter and fled.’ She gave her husband a look that plainly said ‘ _You_ go.’

Mr Potter nodded. He hauled himself up from the ground and followed his eldest son out of the room.

Al was still sniggering as he helped Scorpius pick up the chess pieces. ‘You should’ve seen Mum’s face when he started swearing. That was funny.’ He yawned and looked at the time. ‘It’s kinda early, but you wanna head upstairs?’

Scorpius nodded. ‘Sure.’ They walked up to Al’s room and got ready for bed. Scorpius climbed into his camp bed and started reading one of Al’s many Quidditch books. Al was reading _Flying With the Cannons_ , apparently a gift from his Uncle Ron. They had been reading for ten minutes when there was a knock at the door and Mr Potter entered.

‘I know that you’re worried about your brother,’ he addressed Al, smirking when he saw the orange book in Al’s hands. ‘He’s fine. Apparently there was some sort of issues with Zeren’s plans for the holiday and she won’t be able to come over like we had planned.’

‘Is everything okay?’ Al asked. Scorpius was entirely confused, so he returned to his book.

‘Yes, everything’s fine,’ Mr Potter assured Al. ‘You left this downstairs,’ he directed his attention to Scorpius now, tossing him a small bottle – his Confusing Concoction.

‘Oh, thank you,’ Scorpius grinned. As Mr Potter left the room, Scorpius’s bottle reminded him of something else.

‘Oh, bugger, I almost forgot.’ He jumped out of bed and began to extract large flasks of potions from his bag. He only had to take three every day by now, but he saw that Madam Boot had sent some of a new painkiller potion as well. He hesitated for a moment before pouring himself a serving of it along with the others.

The potions seemed to remind Al of something as well. ‘Your arm hasn’t been hurting all day, has it?’ Scorpius shook his head grimacing. ‘Why did you tell my mum that?’

‘I didn’t want her to feel bad or anything,’ Scorpius told the blanket on his camp bed – it had Quaffles, Bludgers, Snitches, and broomsticks flying around it.

‘Does it still hurt if someone touches it?’ When Scorpius jerked his head noncommittally, Al cocked his head. ‘But, shouldn’t it be past that now?’

‘Madam Boot said sometime this month, she didn’t really give an exact day,’ Scorpius hedged, trying to seem nonchalant. In reality, he was getting nervous – he knew that his arm should feel better than it did.

Al looked at him closely, questions in his eyes, but thankfully he let it go for the time being. Scorpius finished his potions and clambered back into his camp bed – the new painkiller made him tired.

‘Night, Al.’

‘Night, Scorpius.’

\---

The next morning, Scorpius woke up suddenly to shooting pain coursing through his arm; he must have slept on it wrong. He rolled over onto his back in an effort to alleviate the pain and momentarily froze. Where was he? Then Al let out a great snore and shifted in the other bed and Scorpius remembered in a rush – he was in Godric’s Hollow. Scorpius grinned to himself as he got out of bed and wandered downstairs in search of some breakfast, hoping not to wake any of the others up.

However, when Scorpius got to the kitchen he saw that he wouldn’t be eating alone. Mrs Potter and Lily sat at the table.

‘Good morning,’ Mrs Potter greeted Scorpius with a smile. ‘Would you like toast, fruit or porridge?’ she asked, getting up and walking over to the stove.

‘It’s okay...’ Scorpius hesitated, not wanting to cause extra work for her.

‘Don’t worry,’ Lily assured him. ‘She always keeps extras ready for Al since we never know when he’s going to wake up.’

Scorpius laughed and requested some toast and fruit. Mrs Potter, laughing as well, returned to the table with a plate of food for Scorpius. They all chatted for a bit before they heard Al come stumbling down the stairs.

‘Good morning, sunshine,’ Lily greeted him cheerily as he entered the kitchen. Al just mumbled something incoherently in her general direction and sat in the empty chair.

‘Would you like some breakfast?’ Mrs Potter asked, getting up. At the mention of food, Al sat up straight. ‘Yes, please.’

Lily and Scorpius laughed at him as James entered through the back door.

‘Welcome back,’ Mrs Potter greeted him. ‘How is Dorian?’

‘Good. Mrs Wood said they’d come,’ James told her, dusting the snow off his shoulders. ‘And Mrs Black said they would all be there too, and Mr Quirke said to tell you that they’d try and fit it into their busy schedule.’

Mrs Potter laughed. ‘Yes, because they haven’t been every year so far. Thank you for checking with them,’ she called as James walked to the sitting room to warm up by the fire.

‘Who’s going to be where?’ Scorpius asked Al.

‘Dorian is one of James’s friends – he’s a Gryffindor Chaser and lives next door. They’re the Woods – Allyson’s family. The Quirkes live down the street and Kyra, their daughter, is friends with James. The Blacks live next to the Quirkes and their daughter, Juliet, is friends with James too. They also have a son, Jordan, who’s a third year Slytherin,’ Al explained the neighbourhood.

Scorpius wondered what other Slytherins thought of Rachael. In an attempt to get his mind off of her, he continued his question. ‘But where are they all coming to?’

‘Al didn’t tell you about the party?’ Mrs Potter asked.

Scorpius glared at Al, who suddenly seemed very intent on peeling his orange. ‘No, he didn’t.’

‘Every year we have a holiday party on the day after Boxing Day,’ Mrs Potter elaborated.

‘It’s tons of fun,’ Lily offered. ‘Most of our family comes, a bunch of friends too.’

Scorpius just nodded. ‘I think I’m going to get changed.’

‘Okay,’ Mrs Potter smiled. Al continued eating intently and Lily waved before she turned to talk with her mum.

Scorpius walked up to Al’s room and just started out the window for a bit. Why hadn’t Al mentioned this? He remembered Mr Weasley’s cold reception on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, what if they all thought that way? He supposed that he could just hide in Al’s room. There were plenty of books – he wouldn’t be bored.

Scorpius was working at putting on a shirt – it was a lengthy process – when he heard the door open and someone enter the room.

‘Need some help?’ Al laughed. Scorpius got his shirt on properly and fixed Al with a glare.

‘Would you honestly still have agreed to come over if I told you before?’ Al defended himself, correctly interpreting Scorpius’s glare.

‘Probably not,’ Scorpius admitted.

‘Exactly,’ Al continued. ‘I didn’t want you to be sitting all alone in Gryffindor Tower on Christmas because of a bloody party.’

Scorpius decided not to divulge his escape plan, so he just shrugged and changed the subject. ‘So, what’s the plan for today?’

‘That’s why I came up here – we need you downstairs to figure that out.’

Scorpius nodded and followed Al’s lead back to the kitchen. Al and Lily argued for a bit and Mrs Potter just sat back and watched them. ‘They just like to argue, I bet Al really wants to go to town as well,’ she whispered to Scorpius. Sure enough, it was only a few seconds later when Al ‘gave in’. Everyone bundled up and started their trek. Scorpius was surprised at how quiet it was – no one rushed forward to get an autograph or photo – but then he saw an official-looking wizard emerge from a house down the street and follow them at an inconspicuous distance.

Al saw that Scorpius was watching and sighed. ‘Yeah, there’s a division of the Auror department that’s dedicated to protecting “high profile” families – pretty much my entire extended family plus Professor Longbottom’s family. They go through our mail and follow us everywhere for our protection. At least they don’t live with us – we can pretend like we’ve got a normal life.’

Scorpius noticed that Al’s bitter tone as he talked about them. ‘Are your dad and uncle heads of that?’

Al shook his head. ‘Nah, my dad’s Head Auror and Uncle Ron’s the Deputy Head. That division was started before they got those positions, otherwise they wouldn’t have bothered with it. The Ministry did it right after the Battle of Hogwarts.’

Scorpius figured that the Ministry didn’t consider ex-Death Eaters to be ‘high profile’ – Aurors didn’t tail his family for their protection. He didn’t have long to reflect on that, though, because they had reached the town. It seemed to be about the same size as Diagon Alley, but Scorpius thought that Godric’s Hollow seemed more… quaint. It seemed like a word that Liza would use, but Scorpius never thought he would find an occasion to use it himself.

As they walked down the street, Mrs Potter was often called over to talk to people. Scorpius knew that Godric’s Hollow used to be a predominantly wizarding area, but he thought it wasn’t anymore. Before he could comment, Al began speaking.

‘Other than us, the Blacks, the Woods and the Quirkes, this town is all Muggle. It’s kinda nice – they don’t fawn over us because of my dad, they just know us as one of the families whose kids go to a boarding school. It’s nice to be not-famous for a bit.’

Scorpius wasn’t entirely surprised by Al’s revelation – he knew that Al hated living in the shadow of both his father and older brother. ‘At least you’ve got someone good to live up to. No one wants me to follow in my father’s footsteps except Grandfather and Rachael.’

Al looked sharply at Scorpius, who was looking at the ground. Scorpius had never told his friends why Rachael and her little gang seemed bent on hurting him. He hadn’t wanted them to worry.

Al seemed to be dumbfounded. ‘Wait, that girl wants you to be a Death–’ Scorpius cut him off with a quick glare. ‘A… a… like your dad?’ Al stuttered to a finish.

Scorpius, who had resumed watching the ground, gave a noncommittal shrug. Al took that as a ‘yes’.

‘Blimey…’

Both boys sunk into their brooding, the others were ahead and didn’t seem to notice.

‘Well,’ Al broke the tension. ‘Neither of them is here now, so let’s have some fun.’

Scorpius grinned at Al’s enthusiasm and followed as he led the way to catch up with the other three.

\---

The Potters, plus Scorpius, passed the first week of their winter holiday playing games in the snow and throughout the house. Mr Potter had to go to work every day, but he came back every night to excited children full of new stories to tell him.

On Christmas Eve, the Potters had a tradition of going on a hike in the woods to find the perfect Christmas tree. James ran from tree to tree, searching for The One and Lily followed him laughing. Al dragged Scorpius along, trying to find a tree before James. When Scorpius was able to look back, he saw Mr and Mrs Potter walking hand-in-hand behind them, watching their children with smiles in their eyes.

Al started to despair when Scorpius saw a tree a little ways ahead.

‘How about this one?’ he asked, walking up to it and beginning an inspection.

‘It’s great!’ Al cheered, calling his family over. ‘Look what Scorpius found!’

‘Good eye, Scorpius,’ Mr Potter complimented him. Lily agreed and James, grudgingly, nodded. The guys all helped carry the tree back to the house after Mr Potter cut the trunk. They got it set up next to the fireplace and the girls started decorating as the guys got out of their heavy cloaks. Once everyone was gathered together again, they all helped to decorate the tree. Scorpius had been working for five minutes when Mrs Potter asked him to help her with something in the kitchen. When he entered, he saw her with the hot chocolate ingredients.

‘I can’t get it right,’ she complained. ‘Please help?’

Scorpius grinned as he walked over and showed her how to make his mum’s hot chocolate again. They delivered mugs to the rest of the family and everyone continued decorating. Scorpius noticed Al, James and Lily putting up multiple ornaments with names and years on them. There seemed to be one for every Christmas they’d had. He had barely started wondering about them when Mr Potter called them all over. James, Al and Lily knew what was happening and bounded over, Scorpius followed more slowly.

Mr Potter smiled as he handed his three children boxes. Scorpius was going to watch Al unwrap his when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Mr Potter holding out a box to him with a smile. Scorpius took it, intensely curious, and unwrapped his box.

It was a clear glass ball with his name written in red and the year in green. Inside was a small charm of the Sorting Hat, red and gold confetti, and a miniature cauldron. Scorpius could only look at it in wonder. Al had disappeared from his side to hang up his new ornament on the tree alongside James and Lily. Scorpius stayed on the floor, uncertain of what to do.

Mr Potter seemed to sense his confusion. ‘We’d love to have your ornament on our tree, Scorpius, but we understand if you would like to take it home.’

Scorpius smiled. ‘I’ll hang it up here for now, then.’ Mr Potter smiled and Scorpius got up to find an empty branch. He saw Al’s, with a Sorting Hat and lion inside, James’s, a Quaffle and broom, and Lily’s, a cat and mouse. There was a free branch between Al’s and James’s, so Scorpius hung his ornament there.

By this time, it was getting late. Mrs Potter had turned on the Wizarding Wireless and found a station playing Christmas songs. She and Mr Potter were sitting on the couch as the kids moved up to their rooms.

Al and Scorpius got ready for bed quietly – they were both tired. Once they were both lying down, Al flipped the switch and the lights went out.

‘Happy Christmas, Scorpius.’

‘Happy Christmas, Al.’


	10. Ten

Scorpius and Al seemed to wake up at the same time the next morning. Al bolted upright in his bed and grinned at Scorpius. Scorpius’s eyes were open, so Al could see that he was awake. However, Scorpius didn’t seem to be awake enough for Al because he decided to leap from his bead to Scorpius’s.

‘Happy Christmas!’ he cheered, right before his leap carried him completely over Scorpius’s bed and he fell to the floor. Nothing would deter him though, for he bounced back up beaming. Scorpius laughed at him as James opened the door, looking groggy.

‘What in the name of Merlin are you two doing?’

‘Happy Christmas!’ Al cheered again, rushing over to James. James didn’t have time to flee before Al had wrapped his arms around his brother in a hug.

‘Er, right,’ James said, extracting himself from Al’s hug and making his escape. Al exited the room and Scorpius only hesitated a moment to fix his sling before he followed. James and Lily were sitting on the landing by the stairs that led downstairs. They were listening intently for some noise from downstairs. Al joined them and Scorpius sat between Al and Lily.

‘We have to wait for Mum and Dad to get ready for us,’ Lily explained their positions on the floor. ‘Mostly they get themselves some tea or something and make sure that everything breakable is in a safe place.’

They only had to wait a few more minutes before they heard Mrs Potter’s voice: ‘You all ready?’

James let out a whoop and thundered down the stairs, Lily and Al following closely in his wake. Scorpius smiled to himself, suddenly seeing the need to keep the breakables safe, as he calmly walked down the stairs. By the time he reached the sitting room, James was already admiring a new set of Keeper’s gloves and Lily was leafing through a book.

‘Happy Christmas, Scorpius,’ Mrs Potter greeted him with a smile from the couch, sitting next to Mr Potter.

Scorpius smiled back. ‘Happy Christmas, Mr and Mrs Potter,’ he replied before looking to the tree. There was a small pile of unopened presents and Scorpius saw his name on the top one. He sat down next to it and began unwrapping.

The top package was from his Malfoy grandparents. He unwrapped it to reveal another book – _Slytherin: A House of Mystery, Honour, and Power_.

Al saw Scorpius’s look of disgust and followed his gaze to the book. He caught Scorpius’s eye and gestured to the fire. Scorpius grinned and tossed the book in, enjoying watching the flames eat away at its pages.

After opening most of his presents, Scorpius had a box of Sugar Quills from Liza, biscuits (‘MERRY CHRISTMAS!’) from his Greengrass grandparents and a poster of the American World Cup team from Jake, Edward and Aiden. He was then left with one more present and two cards.

The box was from Al and contained a box of Cauldron Cakes – Al’s favourite sweet that Scorpius couldn’t stand. Judging by Al’s sound of disgust, he had just opened Scorpius’s present – a box of Sugar Quills, Scorpius’s favourite that Al absolutely hated.

Scorpius laughed. ‘Happy Christmas, Al.’ He passed over the box of Cauldron Cakes. Al laughed back and exchanged Scorpius for the box of Sugar Quills.

Scorpius turned back to his two cards and tore open the first one with his mother’s handwriting.

_Dear Scorpius,_  
_Happy Christmas! I’ve been so proud of you this year. Your first year at Hogwarts, I’m missing you at home but I can tell that you have been having so much fun._  
_I hope you are having an excellent time at the Potters’._  
_I miss you and love you._  
_Love,_  
_Mother_

Scorpius smiled at his note from his mother and placed it with his other presents. The next card had his dad’s handwriting on it, so Scorpius opened it cautiously.

_Scorpius,_  
_Happy Christmas. I hope that you are enjoying your time with your friends._  
_I have your Christmas present, but I have kept it here – first years aren’t allowed their own brooms at Hogwarts. Your Thunderbolt is here and in your room, ready for you to ride it when you come home next._  
 _I miss you and hope to see you at Easter._  
 _Love,_  
_Father_

Scorpius was vaguely aware that he was still surrounded by the Potters, but he could only gape at the card from his father. One part of his mind was throwing a party for his new Thunderbolt, but the much larger part was rereading the ending.

_I miss you and hope to see you at Easter._  
_Love,_  
_Father_

His father missed him. He said ‘Love’. Scorpius’s face brightened immensely as he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest.

Al saw Scorpius’s face and cocked his head questioningly. He started reading over Scorpius’s shoulder, but didn’t get to the finish.

‘A Thunderbolt? You got a _Thunderbolt_?’ he yelled incredulously. James, Mr Potter, and Mrs Potter looked appreciative and started talking about the broom.

‘It’s the newest broom on the market.’ ‘Naught to two hundred in eight seconds.’ ‘Built in anti-jinx, auto brakes and, reportedly, indestructible.’

In the commotion that ensued, Scorpius wanted a moment to himself and slipped into the kitchen and sank down at the table. The card from his dad was the best present of all, even better than the Thunderbolt.

A few moments later, Al joined him at the table. ‘You okay?’

Scorpius slid the card over to him. ‘Read the rest.’ Al read and Scorpius watched as Al’s eyes grew wider. When he finished, he looked up at Scorpius.

‘He said… do you think…?’

Scorpius beamed again. ‘That’s the first time he’s ever said that to me.’

Al smiled back and they both sat in a happy silence for a few moments more before returning to the rest of the family, who were still talking about the broom.

‘Yeah, we just got our shipment in,’ Mr Potter was saying. ‘They said we were the first team to order them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Irish and Americans were right behind us. We’re starting to practise with them right after the holiday.’ Scorpius saw how Mr Potter’s face lit up when he talked about playing Quidditch – he obviously loved it.

The kids all put away their presents and everyone got ready to go over to Mrs Potter’s parents’ house. Scorpius wondered if he would be joining them, but when Al demanded that Scorpius get ready faster, he knew he was going. He was anxious, but his curiosity overrode the anxiety. He was wondering where they were going and how they were going to get there as he followed Al down the stairs.

‘Everyone ready?’ Mrs Potter asked once they were all assembled. There was a murmur of agreement, so she took a handful of Floo Powder from a flowerpot on the mantle and threw it into the fire before stepping in.

‘The Burrow!’ she stated clearly before she went rushing away. James went next, followed by Lily and Al. Mr Potter gestured for Scorpius to go ahead, so he threw some Powder in the fire and stepped in.

‘The Burrow,’ he said, not quite as certainly as the others. Fireplaces rushed past before Scorpius felt himself falling out of one.

‘Careful now,’ a familiar voice cautioned as a hand caught him and helped him steady himself. Scorpius looked up and saw Fred.

‘Hey, Scorpius,’ he greeted Scorpius, moving out of the way as Mr Potter stepped out of the fireplace.

Fred walked Scorpius around and introduced him to the entire family. Scorpius recognised many of the younger ones from around Hogwarts – Roxanne and Molly Weasley were fifth year Gryffindors and Dominique was a Ravenclaw that Scorpius often saw in the Hospital Wing with him. Scorpius didn’t quite know what to say when Fred introduced him to Uncle Percy – who also happened to be the Minister for Magic. After Minister Uncle Percy, Victorie greeted him and introduced him to Teddy Lupin, whose hair was a bright shade of turquoise.

‘Pleased to meet you,’ Teddy grinned, shaking Scorpius’s hand warmly. ‘What do you think,’ he continued as his hair turned the same sheer blonde as Scorpius’s. ‘I could be your brother!’

Scorpius laughed – he liked Teddy. Teddy grinned along; his hair turning back to the turquoise Scorpius had first seen it. Scorpius couldn’t help but wonder why Teddy was there – he didn’t look like he was related to any of them – but he definitely wasn’t going to ask.

However, almost as though he read Scorpius’s mind, Teddy explained himself. ‘My parents died when I was real young, so since Harry’s my godfather I’ve pretty much grown up with these people.’

‘Don’t “these people” us,’ Victorie chided, slipping a hand into one of Teddy’s.

‘You have to admit it’s true,’ Teddy defended himself, laughing when he bent down to kiss her.

Scorpius was watching them, laughing along, when Victorie’s dad called for everyone’s attention. ‘The kids are going to open presents now.’

Teddy cheered – still a kid even though he was out of Hogwarts – and went to the sitting room. Scorpius hung back, unsure of what to do, but Victorie grabbed his hand.

‘You’re a kid too,’ she smiled, leading him to the room where the younger generation had taken over. Scorpius didn’t think that there would be any presents for him, so he was surprised when Rose walked over with a present for him.

‘Happy Christmas,’ she smiled. ‘Thank you for my book.’ Scorpius had sent her a book about Transfiguration – her favourite subject.

Scorpius smiled back as he started opening his present. ‘No problem. Thank you for… wow,’ he trailed off as he realised what she had given him. He held a pair of the finest dragon’s hide gloves. Scorpius had been admiring them while they were shopping in Godric’s Hollow – they were the thickest and most durable gloves galleons could buy; very few things, potions or otherwise, could ruin them. A note rested in the palm of one.

_For your more dangerous potions._

‘Wow, thanks, Rose,’ he grinned, remembering an incident in Potions when he had burned through one of his own gloves.

‘You’re welcome,’ she grinned back. Scorpius could tell that she was remembering the same class period.

Once the chaos had run its course, the room was littered with wrapping paper and all the kids had something new to enjoy. Scorpius had been pleasantly surprised to find that there was another present under the tree for him, other than Rose’s. He opened it to reveal a book on Quidditch from Victorie and Fred. He started reading it, but he only made it through the first paragraph before the kids were kicked out.

‘It’s our turn,’ Fred’s dad insisted with a grin. The kids trooped out and dispersed. The older cousins went to various bedrooms and the younger cousins stayed in the kitchen to start playing with their new things.

At first, everyone was doing something different. However, Hugo had gotten a full set of Super Wizard action figures and soon everyone in the kitchen was involved in an epic battle. Even the older cousins had reappeared to join.

‘Help!’ Lily and Rose, Wonder Witch and Knarl Woman, were trapped on a cliff, surrounded by Madame Magenta’s (Roxanne’s) minions on one side and a lava river on the other side.

Gryphon Man (James) tried to fly over the lava, but he ran into an invisible wall and started falling. The Hippogriff (Molly) had to save him. The Enchantress and Red Cap Boy (Dominique and Louis) tried throwing things over to Wonder Witch and Knarl Woman, but nothing worked. Super Wizard (Hugo) was fighting the Black Goblin (Teddy) when The Chess Master (Victorie) attacked the small band of heroes. Gryphon Man moved to fight The Chess Master to give the others more time to save Wonder Witch and Knarl Woman as Madame Magenta’s forces closed in.

Mind Master (Al) was busy trying to reach Madame Magenta’s mind when the Grey Knight (Scorpius) saw Dr Doomsday (Fred) standing off to the side. He snuck over and found out that Dr Doomsday was the source of the invisible wall. The Grey Knight was about to kick him into the lava when Dr Doomsday turned and caught the Grey Knight. They fought, but Dr Doomsday was stronger and the Grey Knight was hurt and he fell to the ground. Dr Doomsday got ready to kill him, but before he could Mind Master attacked Dr Doomsday from behind. Caught unawares, Dr Doomsday stood no chance. Mind Master kicked Dr Doomsday into the lava and The Enchantress found that she could reach Wonder Witch and Knarl Woman. They helped the Grey Knight get better so Mind Master could fight Madame Magenta.

In the meantime, Super Wizard had defeated the Black Goblin but Gryphon Man wasn’t faring well against The Chess Master. Red Cap Boy saw Gryphon Man fall and ran over to try and help, but The Chess Master just killed him too. Wonder Witch and Knarl Woman took up the fight against The Chess Master and the Grey Knight helped. Together, they defeated him and went to see if Mind Master needed help.

He didn’t, though. He quickly took over Madame Magenta’s mind and made her become good. They were all celebrating when the parents reappeared, signalling that it was time to leave. Scorpius helped Hugo pack up as the other families Flooed home. Once they were back at the Potter’s home, Mrs Potter went to the kitchen to get started on dinner as everyone else went off on their own to enjoy their presents.

Scorpius went to Al’s room and looked at everything he had received that day. He picked up the card from his dad and read it again. It was easily his favourite.

‘You ready for dinner?’ Al poked his head in a little while later. Scorpius put down his book and smirked.

‘For your pants.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those of you that celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a very merry Christmas!   
> To those of you that don't, I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season!


	11. Eleven

Boxing Day was quiet in the Potter house. Scorpius found that the armchair the others left alone was his favourite, so he lounged there and read one of his new books. Lily was in the sitting room as well, looking through her own new books. Mrs Potter joined them around lunch time, bringing some food with her.

‘Thanks, Mum,’ Lily said, taking a sandwich and mug with her as she curled up on her chair again.

‘I think I’ve got it this time,’ Mrs Potter told Scorpius as he took a sandwich, gesturing to the mug. ‘Let me know.’

‘Okay, thank you, Mrs Potter,’ Scorpius said, returning to his chair and book. He took a sip of the hot chocolate and gave Mrs Potter a thumbs-up. She smiled and took out her own book. They sat in that comfortable silence for an hour before James appeared, Dorian Wood tagging along.

‘Hey, Mum, can I go flying with Dorian?’

‘Certainly,’ Mrs Potter smiled. ‘Be careful and be home for dinner.’

‘I will!’ James called. Dorian waved before both boys ran back out of the room.

‘He won’t,’ Lily observed casually, not looking up.

‘Yes, I know.’ Mrs Potter returned to her book. ‘I’m certain that Ari and Lucas will take care of him.’

Scorpius laughed and Mrs Potter winked at him before silence reigned once more. It was a few more hours before the peace was broken again, this time by Al and Mr Potter. Apparently they had been in the cellar.

‘What’s for dinner?’ Al asked. Mrs Potter looked at the time and jumped up.

‘Bugger, I haven’t started anything yet.’

Mr Potter placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘I’ll go get some takeaway pizza.’

Mrs Potter grinned. ‘Okay, as long as it’s not from Mario’s.’

‘I was thinking about Franco’s,’ Mr Potter told the room at large.

‘Cheese please,’ Lily called over, still not looking up from her book.

‘Pepperoni,’ Al requested.

‘Veggie,’ Mrs Potter made her order.

Scorpius didn’t know what he wanted. ‘Er, could I go with you?’

Mr Potter smiled. ‘Of course. Can you be ready soon?’

‘Sure.’ Scorpius jumped up and gathered his things.

‘Good,’ Al said. ‘I’m starving.’

‘You’re always starving,’ Lily observed just as casually as she had to James, still immersed in her book.

The rest of the room laughed at the look on Al’s face. Scorpius dropped off his book in Al’s room and grabbed his cloak before rushing back downstairs. It took Scorpius a moment longer then Mr Potter to put on his cloak with his sling, but soon enough for Al they were off.

As they walked into town, Mr Potter chatted lightly with Scorpius. They talked about Quidditch, friends, Al’s odd personality quirks and general things about Hogwarts.

When they got to Franco’s Pizzeria, Scorpius looked around in amazement. There was a glass case of ingredients that showed customers what they could have on their pizza. There was anything Scorpius could possibly think of, from all sorts of cheeses to pepperoni to pineapple.

Mr Potter chuckled slightly at Scorpius. ‘Go see what you want; I’ll get started on our order.’

Scorpius walked over to the case and looked at everything, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Everything looked good, he didn’t know what to pick. However, he didn’t want to make Mr Potter wait either, so he decided on ham and cheese and went to make his order. The pizzas only took ten minutes to bake before Mr Potter and Scorpius were walking home, bags in hand.

‘Is Potions your favourite subject?’ Mr Potter asked on the way. ‘I gather that you’re rather good at it.’

‘Hm,’ Scorpius thought for a moment. ‘It’s either that or Defense.’

‘You like Professor Allen, then?’ Mr Potter smiled.

Scorpius nodded. ‘Yeah, she’s a great teacher. How did you two meet?’ Scorpius asked, hoping it wasn’t too personal of a question. He had wondered at the familiarity between the American witch and Harry Potter.

Mr Potter gave Scorpius a sideways glance. ‘How much has she told you about her life in America?’

Scorpius thought back to that first week of classes. ‘Er, she’s from Illinois, she went to school there, her husband’s Samuel Allen, he plays for the American World Cup team… and I think that’s it.’

‘Well, a few years ago Ginny and I took a trip to America. We met Melissa and Sam at a Quidditch match,’ Mr Potter explained shortly. Scorpius had a feeling that wasn’t the entire story, but he didn’t want to pry.

They made it back to the house and found that James was still away. Scorpius smiled to himself at Lily’s and Mrs Potter’s prediction as he unpacked his pizza. They all ate in the sitting room, once Mrs Potter had everyone’s assurances that they would be careful not to spill. When they were done, Mrs Potter started ordering everyone around to get ready for the next day. At first, she told Scorpius to just relax – he was a guest. But he insisted that he wanted to help, so she asked him to meet her in the kitchen in a few minutes. He cleared away the pizza dishes and only waited a minute before Mrs Potter joined him.

‘Okay, are you ready?’ she asked, waving her wand to start the oven heating up.

‘What are we going to do?’ Scorpius asked, washing his hands when she indicated for him to do so.

‘We’re going to need a lot of food tomorrow,’ she explained. ‘I try to get most of it cooked tonight.’

‘What are we going to make?’

For the next few hours, Scorpius and Mrs Potter made roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls, salads, and all sorts of other foods. It was just past nine thirty when they were finished and Mrs Potter was pleased.

‘Thank you very much for your help. I’m normally here until much past ten when I’m on my own.’

Scorpius smiled. ‘I’m glad I could help.’

Mrs Potter smiled back. ‘I’ll finish putting everything away; you can go up to sleep if you want. Could you just deliver this to Harry quickly before you do?’ she requested, handing him a small pan of treacle tart.

Scorpius nodded and left the kitchen. The rest of the house felt considerably cooler after spending three hours in the warm kitchen. He ascended the first flight of stairs while trying not to inhale the scent of the tart so that he wouldn’t eat it all and knocked on the master bedroom door.

Mr Potter looked surprised when he saw Scorpius at the door. ‘Hello, Scorpius.’

‘Mrs Potter asked me to deliver this to you,’ Scorpius said.

‘Thank you,’ Mr Potter grinned. ‘Do you like treacle tart?’

Scorpius nodded mutely, but the truth must have shown through for Mr Potter conjured a plate and gave half of his tart to Scorpius. ‘It’s my favourite as well, and Ginny makes a wonderful treacle tart. Enjoy.’ He gave Scorpius a wink.

Scorpius grinned. ‘Thank you, Mr Potter.’ Mr Potter nodded and Scorpius continued up the stairs. Once he had made it all the way up to the top of the house, he was accosted by Al.

‘What was it like in there?’ Al looked eager.

‘Er, good? Why wouldn’t it have been?’

‘I’ve never been in there while Mum’s cooking for the party,’ Al explained. ‘James tried last year, he was sent back out with a spell flying after him. Dad is the only one allowed to enter the kitchen on these nights.’

Scorpius had noticed that no one had disturbed them, but he had assumed that they had been busy. Now he wondered why they had all been so scared – he hadn’t thought Mrs Potter was acting any different from what he had seen before. When he voiced this thought aloud, Al laughed.

‘She probably didn’t want to scare you away. She was probably concentrating on being on her best behaviour.’

Scorpius shrugged through a mouthful of tart.

‘You have dessert?’ Al demanded, apparently put off at being left out. Scorpius showed his half of the tart and Al looked a little more appeased. ‘Oh, okay then. I don’t understand how you and dad eat that stuff,’ he said, grimacing.

Scorpius grinned, but this time his mouth was full of the first of his potions. Al cocked his head questioningly. ‘What do those potions do for you? And what do they taste like?’

Scorpius grimaced. ‘They taste awful, let me tell you.’ He held up a blue potion. ‘This one is for the ligaments in my wrist – making sure that they heal properly.’ Next he indicated a green potion. ‘This one is for the nerves in my arm – they were damaged the worst. Cheers,’ he said, taking a small drink of a white potion and grimacing. ‘Diluted Skele-Gro, to make sure the bones are healing strong. And that,’ he pointed at the last bottle, which was full of a pink potion, ‘is the painkiller.’

‘Wow,’ Al said sympathetically. ‘How much longer do you need to take those?’

Scorpius shrugged. ‘Until Madam Boot tells me to stop.’

‘Do you know how much longer it will be till you’re completely healed?’

‘I have no idea. Hopefully it will be soon so I won’t need that dictation quill anymore.’

Al laughed. ‘I enjoy that quill, especially since it listens to me too.’

Scorpius laughed along. ‘Yeah, that’s why I want to get rid of it. I want to do my homework without having to start over three times.’

‘You should become a Healer,’ Al commented as they climbed into their beds. ‘Then you can make the spell to fix your arm.’

Scorpius thought about it as he was lying in bed. He didn’t know what St Mungo’s looked like, but he imagined that it had white walls. He saw himself healing a little kid and enjoyed the image, falling asleep with a smile on his face.

\---

The next morning, Scorpius woke up before Al again. Yawning, he went down to the kitchen and was greeted by Mrs Potter with a plate of fruit and toast.

‘Good morning,’ she smiled as Scorpius sat down at the table. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you like treacle tart? I would have made you one as well.’ When Scorpius just flushed slightly, she continued. ‘I’ll just make sure that we save some for you tonight. Oh, and just so you know, people are going to start arriving in about an hour.’

‘Okay, but Al’s still fast asleep.’

Mrs Potter nodded. ‘Once Lily comes down, I’m going to have her go wake him up.’

‘Okay, Mum,’ a voice said from the doorway. Lily had just arrived and, upon hearing her mum’s request, went rushing off again. Mrs Potter and Scorpius remained silent and listened. They heard a crash and Al’s swearing. Lily reappeared a moment later, laughing.

‘Al’s awake. James probably is too.’

‘Thank you, Lily,’ Mrs Potter smiled as James and Al entered the kitchen, both looking tired and mutinous as they kept swearing under their breath.

‘Eat up.’ Mrs Potter handed them plates. ‘Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione’s family is probably going to get here in about an hour.

Al, never one to complain about being told to eat, dug into his breakfast with no further ado. James started eating as well, but he spared a few seconds to glare at Lily. She just smiled sweetly back at him before continuing to eat her own breakfast.

Once they were done, Mrs Potter shooed them back upstairs to get cleaned up and ready for the first guests to come. Al got ready quicker than Scorpius and had disappeared downstairs when Scorpius heard voices going past the stairs. The Weasleys had arrived.

Scorpius went down to say hello to Rose and Hugo. However, when he had descended the stairs Mr Weasley was the only person in sight.

‘Hello, Mr Weasley,’ Scorpius managed to say. Mr Weasley nodded and shook Scorpius’s hand, still not saying anything. Scorpius felt his neck get warm and he made to turn away, but Mr Weasley stopped him.

‘Malfoy,’ he said and Scorpius started slightly. No one called him by just his last name except Professor Turpin. ‘What are you doing here?’

Scorpius was confused. ‘Well, Al invited me over for the holidays,’ he started but Mr Weasley cut him off.

‘No, I mean _why are you here_? Did your dad–’

‘ _Ron_!’ a reproachful voice cut him off. Mrs Weasley walked over to them, glaring at Mr Weasley. ‘Remember what we talked about.’ Mr Weasley quailed under her glare and Mrs Weasley saved Scorpius, leading him away.

‘Sorry about him,’ Mrs Weasley apologised for her husband. ‘Now that Harry’s practicing more for the World Cup, Ron has to take on more responsibility. Sometimes he doesn’t know when to leave work at work.’

Scorpius didn’t know what to say. He greeted Rose and Hugo, but then pretended that he needed something from Al’s room and excused himself.

Once he was alone, Scorpius sat down on his camp bed. Mr Weasley’s words were eating him up. Did he really think that Scorpius’s father had sent Scorpius to the Potters’? Why in Merlin’s name would he think that? Did that mean that he thought Scorpius was only Al’s friend to spy?

Scorpius’s thoughts ran around in answerless circles, so he decided to stay upstairs. No one would really miss him, so he grabbed a book and sat on his bed to get his mind off of his worry.

He was in the same position when Al entered the room thirty minutes later. ‘Here you are. What the ruddy hell have you been doing? Almost everyone’s here.’

Scorpius nodded, showing that he knew this, but said nothing. Over the top of his book, Scorpius watched Al’s expression as he took in Scorpius’s book and position on the bed, shoes off and relaxed.

‘You were going to stay up here, weren’t you?’ he accused. Scorpius still said nothing, but Al didn’t need him to. He strode over and grabbed Scorpius’s book out of his hands, ignoring his cries of protest. He located Scorpius’s shoes and placed them next to the bed and sat down.

‘I’m not leaving until you do.’

‘It’s your house and your party, go see your friends,’ Scorpius retorted.

‘You’re my friend too,’ Al insisted.

‘They don’t think I should be,’ Scorpius muttered.

‘What?’ Al looked shocked momentarily, then realisation dawned and his face darkened. ‘What did Uncle Ron say to you?’

‘I – what? Nothing,’ Scorpius tried to cover up. He ducked low to lace up his shoes, cursing his slip-up.

‘Don’t try that with me. Rose and I know more than our parents think, we know how Uncle Ron feels. What did he say?’

‘He just wanted to know why I was here,’ Scorpius explained shortly. He didn’t want to cause too much intra-family discord.

Thankfully, Al seemed to accept Scorpius’s explanation. ‘You’re my friend. You’re also Rose’s friend, and Liza’s friend. Hugo likes you, and so do Fred, Victorie and Teddy. That’s good enough for me, good enough for my parents too, that should be enough for him.’

Scorpius didn’t know what to say. He wanted to say something, to tell Al how much that meant to him, but everything that came to mind sounded lame even to his own brain. They stood there for a few moments and Al seemed to understand what Scorpius was trying to communicate. They both grinned and Scorpius followed Al back downstairs, which had filled up considerably since Scorpius had been there.

Victorie and Teddy were at the bottom of the stairs and greeted Scorpius again. Today, Teddy’s hair was emerald green. Once again, Scorpius was taken around and introduced to everyone there. Most of the guests were the same ones from the other night, but there were some new faces. Professor Longbottom and his wife Luna were there with their kids Lorcan, Alice and Lysander. The families from the neighbourhood were there too – Lucas and Ari Wood with Dorian and Allyson and another boy that Scorpius assumed was Dorian’s older brother, as well as Nathaniel and Hannah Quirke with Kyra, one of James’s friends, and Kyra’s siblings. Before Scorpius and Al finished their rounds, another family arrived. Trent and Jackie Black entered the room, along with two people that Scorpius didn’t recognise. They were followed by Juliet, another third year that was friends with James, and a few Slytherin boys that Scorpius recognised. Then Zeren Parkinson walked in with them. Scorpius was surprised and turned to Al for explanation as James let out a cheer and went to greet them.

‘That’s the Blacks and the Flints. Zeren usually stays with the Blacks for the holidays.’

Scorpius didn’t have time to process this new information before he was hailed by Rose and Liza. They spent the afternoon together and were fairly relaxed, at least as relaxed as anyone could be when the house was that full. As it got later, though, Scorpius noticed people getting restless. Liza looked to him for explanation but he could only shrug. They both looked at Al and Rose.

‘It’s almost time for the best part of the evening,’ Al beamed. ‘The parents v. kids snowball fight.’

‘We take over the entire neighbourhood,’ Rose said. ‘Let’s go get our cloaks so we’ll be ready.’

When they had returned with their cloaks, it was time to congregate out front to begin. The teams as they gathered were sixteen apiece, so it was somewhat loud. Victorie’s dad called them all to order.

‘Okay everyone, here are a few rules. If you get hit by a snowball, you’re out. If you go inside a house, you’re out. If you use magic, you’re out. When you’re out, come back to the Potters’ house. If you’re on the opposing side you can get hit to be out, but if you’re on your own side you won’t be out if you get hit by a snowball. The neutral zone is right here, in front of the Potter house. Everyone got that?’

There was a murmur of assent from the gathered teams and everyone dispersed. The kids’ base would be the lake while the parents went to the Blacks’ back yard. Victorie’s mum would shoot up green sparks in ten minutes to signal the start. Victorie and Teddy, as the eldest, started giving orders. Scorpius and Hugo received the assignment of scouting – they would sneak over to the parents’ base and gather as much information as they could.

A shower of green sparks lit up the sky and Scorpius and Hugo were off. Scorpius was surprised when they made it all the way to the parents’ base without being stopped, but he wasn’t about to complain. He and Hugo discovered that most of the parents were gone – only Juliet’s dad and Professor Longbottom were there. They were about to start making their way back when someone saw them and raised the alarm.

‘Hugo, go to the trees. Run!’ Scorpius ordered quickly and quietly. He ran towards the open air, hoping that no one had seen the smaller boy. Scorpius was going on a suicide run and he knew it, but it would be worth it if Hugo made it back.

Surprisingly, Scorpius saw the neutral zone ahead of him. Hardly daring to believe his luck, he was almost there when a snowball hit him in the back of the head. Startled, he tripped and fell.

‘Sorry about that,’ Al’s Uncle Charlie apologised, helping Scorpius back up. ‘Didn’t mean to hit you in the head like that. You okay?’

‘Yeah,’ Scorpius replied, hiding his grimace of pain as he walked back to the Potters’ house. No one was out front so he sat down on the porch and doubled over in pain – he had fallen on his left arm. Acting on impulse, Scorpius took his arm out of the sling and plunged it into the pile of snow next to him. He wasn’t certain what he thought that would do, he just wanted the burning to stop, so he was surprised when it started feeling better. Cautiously, he pulled it out of the snow and slid it back into the sling, not wanting to bring the burning back. It started hurting again, but nowhere near as bad as it just had been, so Scorpius walked into the house.

Victorie’s mum greeted him with a smile. ‘Welcome back. I ‘ear you make a wonderful ‘ot chocolate. Would you please show me?’ Scorpius flushed modestly but agreed. Al’s grandmother and Aunt Audrey were already in the kitchen, so together they all prepared hot chocolate for everyone at the party. It also helped Scorpius keep his mind off of his arm.

As they all made the hot chocolate, Scorpius noticed that there seemed to be more parents coming back inside compared to kids. He grinned to himself when he saw Mrs Potter return, looking particularly disgruntled, and complain to her husband about how well he had trained Al to throw. Scorpius did a quick head count as he delivered mugs – there were nine adults and four kids in the house. The odds were in their favour.

‘Who won last year?’ Scorpius asked when he returned to the kitchen.

‘Ze parents,’ Victorie’s mum answered him. ‘Zey won ze last year as well. However, ze kids have won before.’

That explained Victorie’s and Teddy’s determination, Scorpius figured. They wanted to reclaim their title.

As the evening wore on, Mrs Potter started setting out the food for everyone. There were twelve adults and eight kids in the house when they all heard Rose’s dad swearing loudly and Teddy cheering. Mrs Black looked out the front door and relayed the scene to everyone inside. ‘Ron, Charlie, Angelina and Bill are walking back now; all the kids are following them and celebrating.’

Scorpius ran to the door right behind Fred and Dorian. Indeed, the kids outside were all celebrating so the kids inside went to join them. Teddy went to Scorpius and wrung his hand. ‘Brilliant improvisation,’ he said. ‘Hugo said that you helped him get back to us.’

Victorie gave Scorpius a hug. ‘If Hugo hadn’t made it back, we would have been in some real trouble.’

Other kids were clapping Scorpius on the back. He wasn’t expecting all this praise, so, neck and ears warm, he turned to go back inside. As he walked back inside, he found himself next to Al and Uncle Charlie.

‘How’s your head?’ he asked Scorpius.

‘It’s fine’ Scorpius grinned, absentmindedly drawing his left arm closer to his body in an attempt to alleviate the pain. Al’s uncle didn’t recognise the motion, but Al did. Scorpius saw Al looking over at him and avoided his gaze. Once everyone was back inside, they all moved to the tables to eat dinner. At first Scorpius was just listening to the various conversations around the room, but he got drawn into Teddy and Fred’s Quidditch discussion.

‘How’s Hufflepuff doing this year?’ Teddy was asking.

Fred grimaced. ‘I hate to break it to you, but they suck. They lost too many important players last year, like you.’

‘What position did you play?’ Scorpius asked Teddy.

‘Seeker,’ he responded with a grin. ‘Harry taught me well.’ Scorpius grinned back and expected Teddy to move back to Fred, but he was wrong.

‘I hear you got a Thunderbolt,’ Teddy continued to Scorpius. When Scorpius nodded, Fred’s jaw dropped.

‘Whoa, a real Thunderbolt? Is it here?’

Scorpius shook his head. ‘Nah, it’s at home. I wouldn’t be able to take it back to school anyway.’

Fred groaned. ‘But, still, a Thunderbolt! We could’ve ridden it here.’

‘No, you couldn’t’ve,’ Scorpius countered. ‘I wouldn’t be able to ride it because of my arm, and I’m sure not going to let one of you ride it before me.’

Teddy laughed and Fred frowned. Before they could continue their conversation, however, their dishes flew away and the puddings replaced them. Then, Mr Potter stood up and everyone went silent.

‘After that first year we had this party, I’ve just come to expect that you all want me to say something here. However, it’s getting harder and harder to come up with anything new to say. So, this year I’d like to propose a toast. To family, friends, and fresh beginnings. To all friendships, old to new.’ Scorpius saw Al toasting him. ‘To old romances and new.’ Everyone toasted Al’s grandparents and cheered when Teddy gave Victorie a kiss. ‘And most of all, to each of you. You are all special to one another in ways that you may or may not understand yet.’

‘Cheers,’ they all chorused as he sat back down. Scorpius heard Zeren say something different and when he looked over at her, James was laughing and her cheeks were pink. They all settled into their own conversations, though, so he couldn’t tell what she had said.

‘So, do you want to play Quidditch?’ Teddy asked Scorpius, who nodded. ‘What position?’

‘Well, I think I like Seeker.’

‘Why is that?’ Scorpius could see that Teddy was asking a serious question, so the thought about it for a moment before he answered.

‘When I watch games, I like to see how quickly I can find the Snitch. I’ve got pretty good eyes and good reactions to avoid Bludgers.’

Teddy nodded. ‘You’re better off than I was. I just knew that I wanted to play, so I tried out for everything. Let’s just say that it’s a good thing Keeper wasn’t the only open position.’ He grimaced and Scorpius laughed.

The party started winding down after they finished eating. The Longbottoms left, as well as Uncle Minister Percy and his family – they were the ones with young children. Victorie’s family soon followed, along with Teddy. Al, Scorpius, Rose, and Liza went to the sitting room to play a few rounds of Wizard’s Chess and watch everyone leave before Mr Potter drove Liza home. He was back in thirty minutes, even though Liza lived in Oxford. Once it was just Al’s family, Rose’s family, and Scorpius, the three friends went up to Al’s room and talked before Scorpius realised how thirsty he was. On his way to the kitchen, he heard his name from the sitting room and paused to listen.

‘…Scorpius Malfoy.’

‘He shouldn’t be here.’ Scorpius recognised Mr Weasley’s voice. ‘Don’t you remember all the things his father did?’

‘I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for Narcissa,’ Mr Potter said. ‘You probably wouldn’t be either.’

Scorpius was startled. He had never heard about that before.

‘You can be such a _prat_ , Ron,’ Mrs Potter’s voice rebuked her brother. ‘He’s been wonderful while he’s been here, and he and Al are great friends.’

Mr Weasley grumbled. ‘At least Lisa Turpin seems to have her head in the right place.’

‘Ronald!’ Mrs Weasley scolded. Mr and Mrs Potter both made identical sounds of confusion as Scorpius felt his neck burn. Mrs Weasley elaborated. ‘Lisa was a Ravenclaw in our year, remember her? Rose told us that she is their Charms Professor and she doesn’t like Scorpius very much.’

Scorpius didn’t want to hear any more. He moved to the kitchen silently and poured himself a glass of water. Pressing the cool glass against his burning arm he stared at a spot on the table, lost in thought.

He remained in this position until Al and Rose found him and made him violently jump, spilling the water all over the table. Al just laughed while Rose took pity on Scorpius and gathered towels. The three of them cleaned off the table and were about to migrate back to Al’s room when Rose’s parents called her and Hugo to get ready to leave. Al followed her into the sitting room, dragging Scorpius along. Lily and Hugo reappeared and the family said their good byes.

Hugo was the first to approach Scorpius. ‘Bye, Scorpius. I hope I can see you again soon.’ He held out his hand and Scorpius took it with a grin.

‘See you, Hugo.’

Rose and Mrs Weasley were next. ‘It was good to see you again, Scorpius,’ Mrs Weasley smiled as she gave him a hug.

‘I’ll see you on the train.’ Rose hugged him as well.

After many pointed looks from his wife and sister, Mr Weasley walked over to Scorpius. ‘Good bye then, Malf– er, Scorpius.’

Scorpius shook his hand. ‘Goodbye, Mr Weasley.’

One by one, the family stepped into the fireplace and was swept away to their home. Scorpius could feel Mr Potter’s eyes on him, so he fled upstairs after Al.

‘Did you have fun?’ Al asked. Scorpius quickly threw some potion in his mouth and smiled and nodded when Al looked over. Scorpius found that it was easier to conceal things from Al when he didn’t actually speak.

Al smiled contentedly and crawled into bed as Scorpius finished his potions. Once he was done, Scorpius turned off the light and clambered into his own bed, but he didn’t fall asleep for a long while. He was deep in thought, deep enough that he didn’t notice Al peering at him through the darkness, thinking as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to meggi_leigh for the kudos - that's the first I've gotten for this story and it's kinda my baby so I'm really glad that you're enjoying it enough to leave a kudos :D


	12. Twelve

The rest of the Christmas holiday was going to be spent in the same way as the first few days. Scorpius hoped that Mr and Mrs Potter wouldn’t think differently of him after what Mr Weasley had said.

And at first, it didn’t seem like they did. However, one day Scorpius was reading alone in the sitting room when Mr Potter approached him.

‘Scorpius, could I talk with you?’ he asked, sitting down in the chair next to Scorpius’s. Scorpius nodded and set down his book, expecting Mr Potter to ask questions about his family. He had been waiting for this to happen.

‘Did Al ever tell you about Professor Snape?’

Scorpius blinked, surprised, and didn’t answer for a moment. ‘No, should he have?’

Mr Potter shook his head. ‘I wasn’t certain whether he’d told you where his middle name came from.’

‘He’s never told me his middle name,’ Scorpius said, intrigued. He had no idea where this conversation was going.

‘Al’s full name is Albus Severus Potter,’ Mr Potter told Scorpius.

Scorpius’s stomach dropped. He knew that Professor Severus Snape had been the head of Slytherin House when Scorpius’s father and Mr Potter had been at Hogwarts, and he was the one that killed Dumbledore. Scorpius still didn’t know where the conversation was going, but now he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He nodded anyway.

‘Well,’ Mr Potter seemed to be thinking through his words carefully. ‘When I was a student, Snape… didn’t like me very much. He looked down on anyone not in Slytherin and hated Gryffindors, but he especially loathed me. I didn’t mind much because I hated him right back. He looked for faults in my work just so he could mark me down. He took points from Gryffindor at every opportunity. He ignored any merit that my work had and focused on the faults. And he hated me because of my father.’

Scorpius’s surprise must have shown because Mr Potter grinned. ‘Yes, you might see the point of the story now, but bear with me. My dad and Snape went to Hogwarts together, and they were enemies. I won’t trouble you with the particulars of their relationship, but Snape never really got over it and so he took out his aggression on me once I came around.

‘For the longest time, we all thought that Snape was evil. However, he gave me his memories and I saw that, in the end, he had been good all along.’

Scorpius wondered momentarily if Mr Potter was under the impression that Scorpius thought Professor Turpin was evil or something, but Mr Potter kept going.

‘I’m sure Professor Turpin isn’t like that, but I guess that the point of my story is that, like me, you have a teacher that doesn’t like you because of circumstances out of your control. However, I hope that, unlike me, you won’t consciously increase the hatred. Just be the best student you can be and hopefully she’ll start to see you as a separate person from your father.’

Scorpius didn’t trust himself to speak, so he nodded and Mr Potter smiled. ‘And I have been told to pass along a message from Ginny – she says that you are always welcome to visit, and I agree. She also told me to give you a hug from her, but I understand if you would prefer to wait until she returns.’

Scorpius grinned tentatively. ‘Thank you Mr Potter.’

‘No problem,’ he smiled again, squeezing Scorpius’s shoulder. ‘If you need anything, come let me know.’

Scorpius nodded and turned back to his book, but once Mr Potter was out of the room, Scorpius let the book fall in his lap. That was not the conversation he had been expecting. He had been sure that Mr and Mrs Potter wouldn’t want him to take up much of their time anymore, but they both expressed a wish to see him again.

He wished that he had grown up here.

This thought surprised Scorpius, but once it was there he couldn’t deny it. Sure, Scorpius loved his family and home, but he was really enjoying his time with the Potters. There was a feeling of general acceptance and family here that Scorpius didn’t have at his own home. His mother seemed to be warming up to him now that he was away from home the majority of the time and his father had just started. However, Scorpius wished that he had grown up with the kind of love that the Potters showed rather than having to wait until the age of twelve.

Lost in thought, Scorpius didn’t notice Mrs Potter enter the room. When he did, he jumped and flushed. Muttering an apology, he tried to hide behind his book.

‘No, I should be the one apologising,’ Mrs Potter insisted. ‘I seem to have startled you. I just wanted to see if Harry had delivered my hug or if I need to deliver it myself.’

Scorpius felt like he very much wanted a hug, but he didn’t want to say that. ‘If you want to,’ he replied, cursing his voice as it cracked on the last word.

‘Well then, stand up so I can give you a proper hug,’ she ordered, taking the book and setting it on the chair next to her. Scorpius and she wrapped her arms around him. Scorpius felt himself leaning into the hug and enjoying it.

After a moment, they broke apart. Mrs Potter smiled warmly. ‘I’m sure Harry told you, but you are always welcome back here.’

Scorpius felt his neck and ears burning as he fought to hide how he felt. ‘Thank you, Mrs Potter,’ he finally managed to say. She squeezed his shoulder and left the room. Once Scorpius was sure that she was gone, he sank back into his chair, dazed, and the book lay forgotten as Scorpius got lost in his thoughts, with a smile on his face.

\---

Even after their conversations with Scorpius, Mr and Mrs Potter still acted like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. If anything, they were even more warm and welcoming than they had been. Scorpius felt at home with the Potters, they all treated him as one of their own.

It was an excellent Christmas holiday, until the New Year came around.

On the day after New Year’s Day, the _Daily Prophet’s_ headline was a loud one.

**_DEATH EATERS REGAINING POWER?_ **

Scorpius had slept poorly the previous night, so when he first saw the paper he dismissed it as the hallucination of a groggy mind. However, when he saw Mr and Mrs Potter looking grave, he took a closer look at the article.

**_DEATH EATERS REGAINING POWER?  
_ ** _2 January, 2018 – London_

_Twenty years ago, You-Know-Who had a group of supporters who called themselves ‘Death Eaters.’ When Harry Potter defeated You-Know-Who, many of the Death Eaters were killed or captured. However, some evaded capture and disappeared. Now, it seems as though those few have rallied support from hiding._

_Yesterday, a family of Muggles in Kent was murdered as well as three prominent wizarding community members. Parvati Thomas, wife of Dean Thomas from the Department of Mysteries, was a high-ranking employee in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Lavender Finnegan, wife of the late Seamus Finnegan from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, was the Deputy Head of the Magical Accidents and Catastrophes Committee. Tyler Lange was the Editor-in-Chief for the Daily Prophet._

_Above each home was the Dark Mark. You-Know-Who’s sign hasn’t been seen since his downfall in 1998. The Ministry is launching a full-scale investigation into these events and urges the public to be extremely cautious, especially at night._

_‘If these people really are Death Eaters,’ says Percy Weasley, Minister for Magic, ‘then we don’t know what they will do next. If you have any information at all, please contact the Ministry._

_For more information on these events, please see pages two and three._

Scorpius suddenly didn’t feel like eating breakfast anymore. The mums of two of his dorm mates had been killed. A wave of sadness swept over Scorpius – he had thought that the magical community was past all that prejudice.

‘This has been going on a little while – I just hoped that the _Prophet_ wouldn’t find out for a while yet. I had better get to work,’ Mr Potter said grimly. ‘I’ll be back tonight.’

‘Be careful,’ Mrs Potter demanded. The kissed briefly before Mr Potter walked into the sitting room. A second later they heard the fire flare and die as Al stumbled down the stairs and collapsed at the table. He did a double take when he saw the newspaper as well and let out a strangled noise.

‘What? When did this happen?’ he asked, pushing his plate away with all thoughts of food forgotten. At this point, Lily appeared. There was a smile on her face – she had not seen the news.

‘Wow, Al, you’re not shoveling your food into your mouth. That must be a good article,’ she joked, sitting down. When no one laughed, she looked around at them all. ‘What, I thought it was…’ Her voice trailed off as she saw what Al was looking at. ‘Oh,’ she finished in a small whisper.

‘I can’t believe Lavender and Parvati were killed. And those poor Muggles,’ Mrs Potter sighed as she joined the somber party at the table. The word ‘Muggle’ made Scorpius’s blood turn to ice.

‘Where did it say the Muggle family was?’ he asked quickly.

‘Kent,’ Al answered shortly, not looking up. At his response, Scorpius let out the breath he’d been holding and relaxed slightly. Liza didn’t live in Kent, none of her family did.

However, Malfoy Manor was in Kent.

Scorpius hated himself for even thinking that his father could or would do something like that, but as they say, you can’t teach an old Kneazle new tricks.

\---

That day was rather quieter at the Potter household. Rose, Hugo, and Mrs Weasley came over so the mums talked in the kitchen while Al, Rose, and Scorpius sat in the sitting room and tried to listen in while having a conversation of their own.

‘Poor Aiden,’ Rose said. ‘His dad died in a dragon accident last year and now his mum’s gone as well.’

‘At least he and Edward are such good friends,’ Al reasoned. ‘Hopefully they can help each other.’

‘But Parvati and Lavender were both purebloods,’ Mrs Potter’s voice carried out of the kitchen. ‘I don’t understand why they were killed.’

‘I heard that Lavender was over at the Thomas’s. Dean had taken Edward and Aiden out and when they returned…’ Mrs Weasley explained, her voice fading at the end. ‘I suppose they went there for Dean, but Parvati and Lavender put up a fight. They were in the DA after all.’ The women let out a soft chuckle.

‘Thank goodness none of the kids were there,’ Mrs Potter repeated. ‘Dean was out with Edward and Aiden, and I know that Nikolai was down the street with Dorian and James.’

Al and Rose continued their own conversation, but Scorpius couldn’t stop thinking about the Muggle family in Kent. Did he know them? Had he ever seen them before?

A little while later, Rose and her family left. Al went back up to his room, leaving Scorpius in the sitting room with his thoughts. He wasn’t alone for long, though. Lily joined him quickly. Thankfully, though, she didn’t want to talk too much.

‘Do you mind if I join you in here?’ she asked tentatively. ‘I just want a quiet place to read and try to forget about that story for a little while, and you looked lonely.’

‘No, it’s fine,’ Scorpius attempted a smile. It seemed to work, she smiled back and started reading. Scorpius watched her for a moment. Lily was only nine, but she seemed very mature for her age. He supposed that was a consequence of having two older brothers and growing up in a family of war heroes.

The rest of the day was as subdued as the beginning. When Mr Potter returned from work, he still looked grave.

‘No leads,’ he told everyone who had gathered to greet him. James had been at Nikolai’s house all day to be with his friend and help the family, but Al came running down when he heard his father’s voice.

After dinner, Mr and Mrs Potter decided that the family needed a nice evening walk together. James was going to be staying at the Thomas house until school started again, so Scorpius joined Al, Lily, and their parents on a walk through Godric’s Hollow. The Muggle families around them were blissfully unaware of what was happening in the magical community. Many of the families were also out walking or playing in their yards and enjoying the pleasant night. Scorpius felt himself relaxing and he noticed the Potters starting to enjoy themselves as well. Struck by a sudden inspiration, Scorpius stooped down as though to fix his shoe. Instead, he gathered a snowball and threw it at Al. It missed, he threw with his right hand so of course it did, but it still made Al turn around. Scorpius feigned innocence but Al knew who it was – no one in his own family would have missed that badly. With an evil smirk, Al scoped up some snow and flung it at Scorpius. Scorpius threw another snowball and ran for shelter. Lily joined him a moment later.

‘What’re you doing here?’ he asked, surprised by her sudden appearance.

‘I’m joining your side,’ she grinned. They listened to Al arguing with his parents and trying to get their help when Scorpius heard something behind them. He turned and saw two silver eyes leaping towards Lily. Without thinking, Scorpius shoved Lily out of the way towards her parents – causing the animal to land on Scorpius’s back. He heard screaming as the animal tore at his shoulder, and he wasn’t sure whether it was his own or not. The show around him had turned scarlet as the animal ran off of his back. Scorpius vaguely heard people running towards him before he blacked out.

\---

Scorpius’s first thought when he woke up was how very white the room was. The second was a remark on how silly the first was. The thoughts were getting ready to fight it out when the door opened.

‘Ah, good, you’re awake,’ a woman with lime green robes bustled in. The woman introduced herself as a Healer, but Scorpius promptly forgot her name as he looked at the train of people that walked in behind her. Making up the train were Scorpius’s parents, an ashen Al with his parents and Lily, looking sadder than Scorpius had ever seen her.

Trying to lighten the mood, Scorpius smiled. ‘Hey, how come Rose and Liza aren’t huddled around my sick bed?’ Only his dad gave a small, sad smile though. ‘Hey, what’s wrong? I know this has kinda ruined the holidays and all, but I’m sure I’ll get better soon…’ His voice trailed off as the Healer approached his bed.

‘You don’t know what happened, do you, Mr Malfoy?’

Scorpius just looked at her, so the Potters exited. ‘We’ll leave you with your family.’

Scorpius looked to his parents in confusion. His father’s face was stony and his mother looked like she had just stopped crying. ‘What?’ he asked them. ‘It was just some animal, it’s nothing too bad.’

The Healer was the one to enlighten Scorpius. ‘Mr Malfoy, it was a full moon last night.’

It was really amazing how such a simple sentence could turn Scorpius’s entire world upside down. ‘Wait, you mean I got bit by a… a…’

‘Werewolf,’ Scorpius’s father supplied.

At that word, Scorpius’s mother burst into tears once again. ‘They should have been more careful!’ she sobbed. Scorpius opened his mouth to defend the Potters, but his father spoke first.

‘Astoria, it wasn’t their fault,’ he said, bringing her close to him. ‘And it’s not your fault either. You got here as fast as you could.’

Scorpius appreciated his father’s words. The Healer placed a potion on the table and said that she would return in just a moment. When she was gone, Scorpius noticed that his father had missed someone when he listed people who were not at fault.

‘Er, Father? It wasn’t your fault either.’

Scorpius’s father didn’t say anything and Scorpius knew that meant he blamed himself. ‘I mean it. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.’

‘If you had come home, this wouldn’t have happened,’ Scorpius’s father replied, his voice shaking.

That helped Scorpius to understand better. His dad was lumping twelve years of less-than-fatherly treatment into this one moment. ‘Dad,’ Scorpius said bluntly, his sudden use of ‘Dad’ rather than ‘Father’ surprising them all. ‘Don’t blame yourself. I don’t blame you for anything, and this is _not your fault_.’ His father nodded but didn’t look like he believed him. Scorpius didn’t have the chance to continue, though, for the Healer returned.

‘On the bright side,’ she said, trying to dispel the mood. ‘Your arm is completely healed – it’s good as new. As a werewolf, you’ll heal from minor cuts and bruises remarkably quickly. The exception is your shoulder.’ At her words, Scorpius looked down at his right shoulder, which was bandaged. ‘Werewolf bites never heal, so those scars will always be there. Now, we have contacted Hogwarts and Headmistress McGonagall has been alerted of your condition. She said that you may use the Shrieking Shack for your transformations if you would like. Luckily for you, Professor Heineka is a very talented Potions Master so she will be brewing the Wolfsbane Potion for you. You will need to take it every day for the week preceding a full moon. They have alerted the rest of the staff, but it is your decision whether you would like to tell others, like your peers, or not. Now, do you have any questions, Mr Malfoy?’

‘Er,’ Scorpius said. ‘Can I get something to eat?’

The Healer smiled. ‘I’ll go get you some lunch. If you need me, press this button,’ she said, indicating a button on the side of Scorpius’s bed. Scorpius’s parents followed her out to search for some food of their own. Once they had left, the Potters entered. Al’s face was still ashen and Lily looked haunted.

‘Not you too,’ Scorpius greeted them. ‘It wasn’t your fault.’

Lily nodded in the same manner as Scorpius’s father – she still looked like she didn’t believe him. Al approached the bed. ‘How’re you feeling?’

‘Just peachy,’ Scorpius replied sullenly. No one said anything for a moment, and then Lily suddenly flung her arms around Scorpius.

‘Thank you,’ she said, tears in her eyes. Scorpius nodded slightly awkwardly as she retreated again. Mrs Potter copied her daughter before Mr Potter walked up.

‘I would never wish this on anyone,’ he said. ‘I know it’s going to be hard for you. But I cannot thank you enough for saving Lily. I only wish there was something I could do for you.’

Scorpius mumbled for him not to mention it as he shook Mr Potter’s hand. The Healer chose that moment to return with food, so the Potters left, saying they would return the next day. Scorpius had eaten most of his lunch when his parents reappeared. He didn’t know what so say, so he just started rambling. ‘I’m a werewolf and I’m not in Slytherin, you’ll both have plenty to talk about at parties,’ he joked lamely.

Scorpius’s parents looked at each other briefly. ‘I wasn’t in Slytherin either,’ his mother said, shocking Scorpius.

‘You weren’t? But you and Father met at school…’

Scorpius’s father grinned slightly. ‘Yes, we did. However, it was your Aunt Daphne that was the one in Slytherin. You mother was a Ravenclaw.’

Scorpius was processing this new information when his father kept talking. ‘By the way, your cousins Alexander and David say that they miss you.’ Scorpius looked up at his father in confusion. ‘I went out to visit them for the New Year,’ he explained. ‘We caught the first Portkey back that we could get.’

Scorpius was immensely relieved to be given this proof that his father hadn’t been in town, so he couldn’t possibly have had anything to do with the Muggle family in Kent. They talked for a little while longer, but eventually they too left the hospital. When Scorpius was alone, he slumped back in his bed and closed his eyes. He didn’t feel any different, but he had seen a change in everyone else.

They were afraid of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I was writing this, when I realised where it was going I apologised to Scorpius.
> 
> Happy New Year, friends!


	13. Thirteen

When Scorpius woke up the next day, the Healer was knocking on his door. ‘Your parents are here to see you, Mr Malfoy.’

Scorpius nodded and they walked in. He briefly wondered if anything had changed from the previous day before his mother spoke.

‘Oh, Scorpius, I hate to see you like this.’

‘It’s okay, Mum,’ Scorpius assured her, surprising everyone again by using the different term. She smiled like she enjoyed being called that and nodded but didn’t say anything. They talked for a few minutes, but not about anything important. School, classes, their Greengrass relatives, and Scorpius’s mother was in the middle of a story about Scorpius’s cousin Anna when Scorpius cut her off.

‘I don’t know if it’s denial or if you’re just scared of me, but you don’t need to pretend like nothing happened.’ His parents looked at each other and Scorpius could tell that was exactly what they were trying to do. Before they could defend themselves, however, the door opened and Al walked in with Mrs Potter. Scorpius saw his mother stiffen and look away but he just rolled his eyes. She’d get over it.

‘Harry had to work and Lily isn’t feeling well,’ Mrs Potter explained their absences. Al’s face hadn’t quite returned to normal and he stayed a distance from the bed. Scorpius supposed that he should get used to it – people would probably react the same way around him from now on.

‘We’ve discovered a bit about the other night,’ Mrs Potter said, breaking the silence that had taken over the room.

‘Really?’ Scorpius’s father asked.

‘It was the Death Eaters.’

At Mrs Potter’s announcement, Scorpius watched his father carefully. His face grew hard and his eyes flashed dangerously. Scorpius took this as a good sign that his father wasn’t involved with them.

‘They’ve recruited werewolves now too. That one was sent to attack someone from our family and it was trying to get Lily, but you saved her,’ Mrs Potter elaborated.

‘That’s why she’s not here,’ Al explained hoarsely. ‘She feels so bad that you were attacked while saving her.’

‘Tell her not to be,’ Scorpius said. ‘I would do it again in an instant.’

Al nodded and fell silent once more. The Healer, who Scorpius had forgotten was in the room, approached his bed.

‘Alright, Mr Malfoy, I just need to make sure that there aren’t any lingering ill-effects and you will be free to go home.’

Scorpius looked at Mrs Potter, but she answered his question before he asked it. ‘We’ve brought your bag and anything we could find of yours in our house. If there’s anything missing, just owl Al and let us know.’

Scorpius nodded and thanked her, but he couldn’t reciprocate the smile she gave him as they left. The Healer quickly finished her checkup and allowed Scorpius to leave. It was a quiet walk back to the public fireplaces in the lobby.

‘Malfoy Manor.’

Scorpius stumbled as he stepped out of the fireplace in his own home. Grennie was there to greet him.

‘Good afternoon, Young Master.’

‘Hi, Grennie,’ Scorpius responded, trying not to be too sullen with the elf. He retreated to his room quickly before either of his parents could try to start up another painfully awkward conversation.

For the remainder of the holiday, Scorpius remained in his room as much as he could – only emerging to get food when Grennie was busy and couldn’t bring him any. Luckily for him, Scorpius had his new books to keep him entertained in his solitude, since no one wrote or visited.

\---

On the last night before Scorpius returned to school, his mother insisted that they have a family dinner together. Trying and failing to find a way out of it, Scorpius accepted his fate and joined his mother and father for dinner.

They ate their appetizers in silence. Scorpius wasn’t going to instigate a conversation, he just wished that Grennie would serve the food faster so he could finish and flee again. As Grennie cleared the appetizer dishes, Scorpius’s mother made the first attempt.

‘So, Scorpius, do you have everything packed up for tomorrow?’

‘I think so,’ Scorpius told the table in front of him. The silence came back and Grennie started serving the entrees. After many pointed looks and gestures that she probably thought were subtle but really weren’t, Scorpius’s mother got his father to say something too.

‘Have you taken a look at your new broom yet?’

Scorpius gave a noncommittal jerk of his head. Sure, he had looked at it, but that had only been when he moved it off of his bed so he could lie down.

Seemingly put off by Scorpius’s lack of response, his parents didn’t say anything more until dessert. Scorpius was eating some rather tasty treacle tart and ignoring his parents’ not-so-subtle silent conversation when his mother cleared her throat.

‘Scorpius, would you mind if I asked you to write me right after the next… er…’ Scorpius wondered if she would be able to say it. ‘F-full moon.’

‘Sure,’ Scorpius assented shortly.

‘Let us know if you get a routine by Easter so we’ll be able to have things ready for you when you come home,’ Scorpius’s father offered.

‘If,’ Scorpius corrected him quietly.

‘Er, if?’ his mother asked.

‘If I come home for Easter,’ Scorpius clarified.

‘Why wouldn’t you?’ his father asked. He and Scorpius’s mother shared a glance and Scorpius snapped.

‘That way you won’t have to deal with me,’ he told them bluntly. ‘I can see how you’re afraid of me now, you all are, so I guess I’ll just stay at school. Maybe I’ll ask Professor McGonagall if I can stay there for the summer too. Or perhaps I could just live in the Shrieking Shack. That way neither of you will have to be afraid to have me in or near the house.’ Scorpius had thoroughly lost his appetite by this point, so he pushed himself away from the table. ‘Excuse me.’ Once the door closed behind him, Scorpius sprinted to his own room. His house had never felt so much larger and colder than the Potters’ than it did now. Once he was inside his room, Scorpius shut the door and stood there for a moment – unsure of whether he wanted to break something or collapse on his bed.

The latter option won out, so Scorpius crossed to his bed and fell onto it, face buried in his pillow. He was only lying there for a moment before he heard the door open and footsteps approach his bed. Assuming it was his mother, Scorpius moved his legs so she could sit. However, the person that sat down was heavier than his mother. Scorpius rolled over and saw his father sitting at the end of his bed.

‘What makes you think we’re scared of you?’ Scorpius’s father asked in a soft, careful voice that Scorpius had never heard his father use before.

‘I’m not blind; I can see how reluctant everyone is to come near me anymore. I also see all those little looks you share with Mother,’ Scorpius accused, lying face down again.

‘Oh, Scorpius, your mother and I aren’t afraid of you.’ His father moved and tenderly put a hand on Scorpius’s shoulder. ‘Afraid _for_ you, not afraid _of_ you.’

Scorpius hadn’t cried in over ten years. He didn’t want to bother his parents with his tears. Besides, Malfoys don’t cry. However, Scorpius reasoned, this seemed like an acceptable time to shed a few tears. Unfortunately, a few tears turned into full sobs as Scorpius’s mind vented its frustration and helplessness. As he cried, his father, unsure at first, pulled Scorpius into his arms.

It was an acceptable time to cry, but Scorpius was still a Malfoy so the tears stopped quickly.

‘Sorry,’ Scorpius mumbled as he pulled away from his father and saw the salt water stain on the shoulder of his shirt.

His father waved that away dismissively. ‘Well, you never got to try out your new broom, so I guess we’ll have to take a ride at Easter.’

Scorpius smiled weakly and nodded. Then, for the first time in Scorpius’s memory, his father leaned over and gave him a warm hug.

‘For the record,’ he whispered in Scorpius’s ear, ‘your mother and I will always love you. No matter what.’

Scorpius went to sleep considerably happier that night.

\---

On the way to King’s Cross the next day, Scorpius asked his parents if they thought he should tell people he was a werewolf or not. They said that they trusted he would do what he thought was best, which really didn’t help him. The Potters already knew, so Scorpius figured that meant Rose knew as well. He decided that he would tell Liza and leave it at that group for the time being.

They arrived at King’s Cross with plenty of time to spare, so Scorpius said his goodbyes on a fairly empty Platform Nine and Three Quarters and found himself an empty compartment at the back of the train. From his seat, Scorpius had an excellent view of the platform. He watched kids say goodbye to their parents and picked out the faces he recognised. He was still people watching when the door opened.

‘There you are,’ Rose greeted him, hauling her trunk in and surprising Scorpius. ‘Where’s Al? Did you guys not come together?’

Scorpius’s surprise cleared – it seemed Al hadn’t told her after all. ‘Rose, I got bit by a werewolf a few days ago.’

Rose froze, stunned, when Liza entered. ‘Hey, guys!’ she smiled brightly before taking a good look at both of their faces. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked. ‘Did someone die?’

‘Yeah, Parvati Thomas, Lavender Finnegan, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet and a family of Muggles,’ Scorpius said bitterly.

‘Wait, Thomas and Finnegan like Edward and Aiden?’ she asked, her face shifting from confusion to horror.

Scorpius nodded. ‘Yeah, both of their mums. And then I was bit by a werewolf a few days ago.’

Liza’s jaw dropped open with a faint pop. ‘A… a werew–… you…’

Scorpius cut off her muttering. ‘If you guys don’t want to sit with me, I understand,’ he told them, pulling out a book and hiding his face. Liza muttered something about the loo and made her escape. Rose surprised Scorpius by lugging her trunk onto the rack and sitting down.

‘You’re still my friend, even now,’ she told him quietly. Scorpius appreciated it, especially since neither Al nor Liza returned for the remainder of the trip.

Rose stayed with Scorpius through dinner, so after the meal he went up to his room to let her see her other friends. Scorpius was lounging on his bed when the door opened. Al walked in and froze when he saw Scorpius in there. Scorpius grinned like nothing had happened, but the grin disappeared faster than if someone had vanished it when Al merely nodded and left again.

It was a good thing he wasn’t telling anyone else, Scorpius supposed. Still, it was going to be a long seven years without two of his best friends.


	14. Fourteen

The next morning, Scorpius ate his breakfast quickly and left the Great Hall before many in the castle were even awake. On his way back to Gryffindor Tower, he saw Rose and Liza walking to the Great Hall. He smiled at them both, but only Rose smiled back as Liza suddenly seemed intensely interested in something in her bag. Scorpius was glad when classes started the next day; they gave him something to think about other than Al and Liza. He still sat next to them in classes, but there was a lot less talking and laughter between them.

Most of Scorpius’s teachers gave him encouraging nods or pats on the back, with the exception of Professor Turpin. She now ignored him completely unless she had to collect his work or assess his wand work. Scorpius found that he was spending a lot more time in the library or in the dungeons so that he wouldn’t be bothering anyone.

One afternoon that weekend Scorpius was alone in the dorm when Edward walked in.

‘Hey,’ he greeted the boy softly. ‘I realise that this is probably such a silly question, but how are you doing?’

Edward gave a small smile. ‘I’ve been better.’

Scorpius nodded. ‘Understandable.  How’s Aiden?’

‘He’s been better too,’ Edward responded. ‘He and his mum were super close since his dad died so he’s really torn up, but my dad adopted him so he’s got a home and family still. And then Jake’s aunt and uncle were the Muggle family that was killed in Kent so he’s a bit worse off but still making it through.’

‘That’s good. Let me know if there’s ever anything that any of you need that I can help with,’ Scorpius offered.

Edward nodded gratefully. ‘Thanks, Scorpius. Now, if you don’t mind my asking, what happened with you? You and Al used to be like this,’ he demonstrated with two fingers crossed. ‘And now, I’m not sure when I last saw you two even talk to each other.’

Scorpius debated briefly and decided to tell Edward what was going on. Scorpius should tell his other dorm mates as well; they would probably guess the truth anyway when he was never in bed on the nights of a full moon. ‘Well, you know how the Dea… how they’ve recruited werewolves now?’

Edward nodded. ‘There was something about that in the _Daily Prophet_.’

‘Well,’ Scorpius decided the best way would be to just tell him. ‘I got bit.’

Edward’s eyes grew wide. ‘You mean you’re a… werewolf now?’

Scorpius nodded, expecting Edward to flee. Instead, Edward sat down on Al’s bed. ‘Man, I thought my luck was bad. Is there anything I can do to help?’

Scorpius shrugged. ‘Unless you go out and discover the cure to lycanthropy tomorrow, there really isn’t. I’ll be going to Hogsmeade for the full moons, so you don’t have to worry about me being in here as a wolf or anything.’

Edward laughed. ‘Hey, that wouldn’t be so bad. I always wanted a dog.’

Scorpius laughed along. ‘Well, you can call me Fang anyway if you want.’

Edward got up. ‘I actually just came in here to grab my Defense book; do you think you could help me, Aiden and Jake? We’re all confused.’

Scorpius nodded and started getting up. ‘I’ll be right down.’

Edward nodded and started walking out the door. ‘Oh, and, Scorpius.’ Scorpius looked up and saw Edward’s face light up in a smile like it hadn’t in a while. ‘Thanks.’

Scorpius understood what he was saying and smiled back. ‘Thank you too.’

It took Scorpius a minute before he could find his shoes and get them on, but once he was ready he walked back to the common room and sat at the table where Edward was talking animatedly while Jake and Aiden looked at each other confusedly.

‘Er, Scorpius,’ Jake was the first to say something. ‘Edward says that he’s going to start calling you Fang and we should too. Why?’

Scorpius snorted. ‘Evidently I’m going to be the dog he’s never had during full moons.’

Aiden understood and he gave a low whistle, but Jake still didn’t understand completely. ‘Why?’ he repeated.

‘Please don’t go spreading it around,’ Scorpius dropped his voice, ‘but I got bit by a werewolf.’

Understanding sympathy dawned on Jake’s face. ‘Wow. We are quite the band of tragedy magnets, aren’t we?’ He smiled a contagious smile; Scorpius saw the rest of them smiling along as they moved on to the homework. Scorpius was thankful they weren’t screaming and running from him as fast as they could.

Later on that night, Scorpius had picked out a secluded armchair to read his Potions book for a little while. He wasn’t sure how long it had been when Rose found his hiding spot.

‘Hey,’ she greeted him. ‘So this is where you’ve disappeared off to. You haven’t finished that book yet?’ she joked.

Scorpius grinned. ‘I’ve been pacing myself.’

Rose laughed. Scorpius was about to join in when he saw Al and Liza walk into the room looking for Rose.

‘You don’t have to pick me or them,’ Scorpius told her. ‘Go ahead and be friends with them. I understand.’ Scorpius returned to his book, so he didn’t see her shocked face or her determination when she got up.

Because he missed that, Scorpius was surprised when he heard her return. ‘I’m not picking between you guys,’ Rose said. Scorpius thought this an odd statement to make to just one person, so he looked up. Al and Liza were standing there, not looking entirely comfortable. However, Rose wasn’t finished.

‘Al, Liza, I’ll have you know that you’ve been acting like right prats. He’s still the same Scorpius you met in Diagon Alley, Liza. And he’s still the same Scorpius you invited to your house for Christmas, Al. You may not have noticed, but he’s been avoiding you so that you won’t have to go through the trouble of avoiding him. You weren’t in here earlier, so you didn’t see what happened when he was sitting with Edward, Aiden, and Jake. He told them, I could tell exactly when by Aiden and Jake’s faces. However, they still wanted to talk to him, they didn’t just stop. All four of them looked happier than they had been all week. I said I wasn’t going to pick, but if the two of you keep acting this way I’m going to pick Scorpius.’ Scorpius had never heard Rose make such a speech before, and he was really grateful for what she said, but she seemed to have it all wrong.

Al and Liza looked like they were trying and failing to come up with something to say, so he saved them. ‘Look, I appreciate that, Rose, but it’s okay. I can see how you guys are afraid of me, and now you know that I don’t need pity friends since I can hang with Edward and them, so I’ll save you the trouble. I won’t bother you guys anymore.’ And, feeling like he had grown up rather quickly, Scorpius left Al and Liza gaping like beached fish and walked to his room.

He had barely made it to his bed before the door burst open behind him. ‘Afraid of you?’ Al demanded, looking incredulous. ‘Why the buggering hell would I be afraid of you?’

Scorpius was surprised by this sudden outburst. ‘Er, because I will now turn into a vicious wolf every full moon?’ Scorpius told Al with the air of explaining elementary math to an astrophysicist.

Al waved his hand dismissively. ‘Teddy’s dad was a werewolf too. My dad says that he just took the Wolfsbane potion and he was fine – not violent or anything. I’m not afraid of you.’

‘Then why the bloody hell have you been avoiding me since that day?’ Scorpius snapped. He had been doing quite a bit of that lately.

‘It was my fault.’ Al’s voice was almost inaudible and his head fell.

‘How do you figure that?’ Scorpius asked, most of his anger gone. Most.

‘I saw the wolf behind you and Lily,’ Al confessed. ‘But I just thought it was someone’s dog. I could have warned you, warned my parents, but I just begged them to help me fight you with snowballs. If I hadn’t been so selfish about something so trivial, my dad probably would have seen it too and he could have saved you.’

Al had shocked the words right out of Scorpius’s mouth. He blamed _himself_ for what had happened. ‘Er, well,’ he stammered. ‘Unless you sent that werewolf to attack me, it wasn’t your fault. I don’t blame you at all, so you shouldn’t blame yourself.’

It was Al’s turn to be surprised. ‘You…you don’t? Then why were _you_ not talking to me?’

‘I thought _you_ were afraid and didn’t want to talk to _me_.’

The two boys looked at each other in silence for a moment. Then, even though it wasn’t really that funny, they both started laughing. After ten seconds, the door burst open again and Liza ran in.

‘Ugh, you are both so _daft_!’ she cried, hitting Al and hugging Scorpius before running back out, her pink headband getting caught in the door. They heard her swear and yank it out before running the rest of the way down the stairs. Al and Scorpius were silent for another moment before they laughed again.

‘You know, sometimes I really wonder about her,’ Al observed casually as they got changed into their pyjamas. Scorpius laughed and debated which book he wanted to read next. However, that debate was put on pause when Al called him over.

‘Wanna play some Wizard’s Chess?’ he asked, pulling out his set. Scorpius was glad that things had gone back to the way they had been.

‘For your pants.’

\---

Now that Scorpius’s life was back to relative normalcy, his next week was considerably better than the previous. He hung out with Edward, Jake, and Aiden more often and was glad that they were becoming better friends. True to his word, Edward had started calling him Fang and it had stuck quicker than Scorpius had anticipated.

The following week, however, he started to get more nervous. That Wednesday, Professor Poole held him back after Transfiguration.

‘Professor Heineka has requested that you go to the dungeons right now to take your potion.’

Scorpius nodded and left the room, not trusting his voice. When he entered the corridor, Scorpius found Al, Rose, and Liza waiting for him. If they noticed that he was quieter than usual, they didn’t say anything. Scorpius was thankful, and when he turned to go to the Potions dungeons they all followed, still chatting away.

‘Ah, Mr Malfoy. Come on in,’ Professor Heineka greeted him. Liza reached out and grabbed his hand as he started to walk in. He turned and saw all three of them smiling reassuringly. Liza gave his hand a squeeze and released him before the three of them retreated and let Scorpius go on alone.

When Scorpius walked into Professor Heineka’s office, the first thing he noticed was a bad smell. ‘Is that the Wolfsbane?’ he asked, wrinkling his nose. It smelled like a horrible mixture of wet dog, rotten eggs, and Al’s dirty socks.

Professor Heineka smiled. ‘Yes, it is. I’ve been told that the taste is… rather gross. I apologise, I would have added some sugar but that, unfortunately, renders the whole potion useless.’ Scorpius nodded in understanding and looked into the cauldron. The potion was, oddly, electric blue in colour. He didn’t realise that he had been staring until Professor Heineka’s arm appeared holding a goblet.

‘Yes, it is a rather interesting colour, no?’ She smiled, dipping the goblet into the liquid. Scorpius noticed that it seemed to be liquidy (not thick and soupy) with pleasure – he didn’t fancy trying to force down a gelatin-like potion, especially a bad-tasting one.

‘Drink up,’ Professor Heineka ordered, handing Scorpius the goblet. The potion was smoking, so Scorpius chugged the potion as quickly as he could. Even so, he still gagged and coughed.

‘Ugh,’ he complained, doubled over in a hacking cough. ‘That tasted even worse than it smelled. You’re sure there’s nothing to do?’ He stood upright and did a double take – the goblet was still smoking. He pulled a face.

‘I’ll experiment a little,’ Professor Heineka promised, conjuring a goblet full of water for Scorpius. ‘I’m going to leave this here,’ she told him, placing the smoking goblet on the counter next to the cauldron. ‘You may come in here and take tomorrow’s dosage during class.’ Scorpius nodded his thanks and drank the water in one gulp. He went to give her the goblet, but she refilled it again and handed it back with a wink.

‘Thanks, Professor,’ Scorpius called as he exited the room. Al, Liza, and Rose were playing Exploding Snap on the floor, but when Scorpius reappeared they all jumped up.

‘How was it?’ Liza asked as Al peered into the goblet Scorpius was holding. ‘We heard you coughing, Al thought you were dying.’

‘It smelled something awful and tasted even worse,’ Scorpius grimaced, drinking his water. ‘Let’s go eat, I can still taste it.’

\---

Later that night, up on the Astronomy Tower that night, Scorpius eyed the moon warily, ignoring Professor Sinistra’s talk about some hunter and his dog. The moon was very nearly full, and Scorpius could tell without even looking up. His senses seemed to have sharpened – he could see perfectly even though it was midnight and he could smell better. For instance, Al next to him smelled like the butterscotch pudding they’d had at dinner, Liza smelled nicely like an orange-ish mint, and Rose smelled like, well, roses. An unfortunate consequence of this heightened sense was that someone had silver with them and it was making Scorpius nauseous.

As they all walked back to Gryffindor Tower, Scorpius held back with the hopes that whoever had the silver would walk quickly. Katie walked past him and suddenly the smell was so overpowering that Scorpius stopped dead in his track and focused on not throwing up what was left of his dinner as the world swayed around him. Al, Rose, and Liza had walked a little ways ahead before they realised that Scorpius had stopped, so Professor Sinistra was the first to reach him.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked gently, placing a steadying hand on Scorpius’s shoulder. He nodded, glad that Professor Sinistra was wearing an obnoxious amount of perfume – it helped clear his head and airways. He started walking again and the other three returned to his side.

‘Why’d you stop?’ Liza greeted him.

‘Katie had silver with her,’ Scorpius explained.

‘But I thought that was only dangerous if you ate it or something,’ Al interjected.

‘It’s really bad if it gets into my blood, but the smell’s nauseating,’ Scorpius told them.

‘Was it as bad as the Wolfsbane?’ Rose asked with a sly smile.

‘Oh, that’s not fair,’ Scorpius complained, grimacing as they all laughed at him.

\---

The next morning, Scorpius woke up before Al. As he was getting dressed, he noticed a little bottle with orange liquid in it and smirked to himself. He slid the bottle into his pocket and went to eat. He was one of the first Gryffindors awake, so he sat contentedly by himself for a bit. Unfortunately, that made him more conspicuous, as he discovered when Rachael walked up to him.

‘Hey, Scor!’ she greeted him brightly.

_Scor?_ Scorpius thought. Where did that come from?

‘I’m glad to see that your arm’s all better,’ she continued, sitting down next to him. Scorpius watched her out of the corners of his eyes and reached into his pocket to grip his wand. As his fingers closed around it, they brushed against something smooth and cool. A plan formed and Scorpius kept watching Rachael, waiting for the opportune moment. She was chatting away, but Scorpius wasn’t listening. Then, finally, she turned to look at someone and Scorpius quickly tipped the rest of his Confusing Concoction into her pumpkin juice. She turned back and drank some, and then apparently decided it tasted good because she gulped the rest of it down. Scorpius wasn’t sure what the recommended dosage of the Concoction was, but the amount he used seemed to do the trick.

‘What am I doing at the Gryffindor table?’ she demanded, the false sweetness gone. She got up, looking dazed, and walked back to the Slytherin table. Scorpius let out a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding as Al, Rose, and Liza joined him. Rose, ever the observant one, looked at him curiously but Scorpius was thankful that the two more outspoken members of their little posse didn’t seem to notice anything.

Later that day in Potions, Scorpius noticed Rachael eying him closely. He stuck to his work and didn’t dare leave to take his Wolfsbane without some sort of explanation. Luckily for him, Professor Heineka saw his predicament.

As she made her way around the room, she stopped by Scorpius’s table. ‘Mr Malfoy, would you go get my grade book from my office?’

Scorpius nodded and moved to the door to her office. Once inside, he grabbed the grade book and quickly downed a goblet of the potion. Unfortunately, he couldn’t drink it without coughing a little. Clearing his throat, he returned to the class and handed the book to Professor Heineka.

‘Thank you. Sorry about the dust.’ She winked and Scorpius barely managed to bite back his laughter.


	15. Fifteen

Scorpius’s anxiety grew along with his senses and, much too soon for him, it was the day of the full moon.

During breakfast, Al Rose and Liza weren’t talking to him – they didn’t seem to know what to say. Scorpius noticed Al looking particularly anxious. He wished they would say something – they weren’t helping his mood by not talking at all. It was a tense atmosphere centered around Scorpius until Edward sat next to him.

‘Hey, Fang,’ he said with a smile, clapping Scorpius on the back. ‘How’re you feeling?’

Scorpius grinned along. ‘I’ve been better, but all things considered I’m doing pretty well. How are you?’

‘Probably better than you,’ Edward observed. ‘Hey,’ his voice dropped softer. ‘I’ve got something for you.’ He held out a small device. Intensely curious, Scorpius took it and looked up at Edward questioningly.

‘It’s a Muggle music player,’ Edward explained. ‘My dad helped me make it so it runs on magic – otherwise you wouldn’t be able to use it here.’ Scorpius nodded, still not understanding _why_ , but Edward wasn’t done. ‘I know you’re probably stressed. When I’m stressed, I like to listen to music – it helps me calm down. Hopefully it will help you too.’

‘Thanks.’ Scorpius tried to pack a lot of meaning into that word, examining the little device and grinning at the thoughtfulness of his friend.

‘Here, let me show you how to use it.’ Edward took it back and started pressing buttons. The screen lit up and Scorpius looked at it in wonder. ‘This is how you play the songs,’ Edward instructed Scorpius. ‘Most of these songs are by older bands – my dad is a huge Beatles fan, he blames his father for it.’

Scorpius looked at him in confusion – what did bugs have to do with the music? – but before he could voice his question Edward motioned for him to put the miniature speakers (‘ear buds’) in his ears. When he did, Edward pressed the play button and people started singing in Scorpius’s ears. He liked it. The screen informed him that he was listening to ‘Penny Lane’ by The Beatles. Well, that explained the odd bug reference.

‘Thanks, Edward,’ he said after stopping the song and taking the ear buds out. Edward grinned.

‘No problem, Fang. My favourites are The Beatles and Pink Floyd; hopefully you’ll like them too.’

Scorpius nodded his thanks and they got up to go to History of Magic. It was only once they got up that Scorpius noticed Al was missing.

‘Where’d Al go?’ he asked Rose as they walked to class.

‘The post came in and he got package, so he went to put it away,’ she informed him.

Scorpius remembered how anxious Al had been – he hoped that the package would help whatever was wrong. And it seemed to – Al looked happier when he joined the class. Scorpius smiled and Al beamed back.

During break later that day, Scorpius listened to more music on his new music player. Remembering Edward’s suggestion, he continued listening to The Beatles for a bit before switching to Pink Floyd. Once he found the second band – it took multiple tries – he dropped the music player on his bed and nearly jumped out of his skin as the sound of clocks going off rang in his ears. He picked up the player and discovered that the first song’s title was, appropriately, ‘Time’.

In Transfiguration later that day, Professor Poole informed Scorpius that he would be excused from the Astronomy lesson that night. He thanked her and started humming ‘Time’ as he walked to dinner. Edward heard as he walked past and grinned.

‘I thought you might like that one,’ he said. ‘It’s one of my favourites as well.’

‘How many songs are on there?’ Scorpius asked. He had been listening all through his break and none of the songs had repeated yet.

‘Er, a couple thousand, I think,’ Edward responded with a shrug.

Scorpius felt his eyes widen. ‘A couple thousand?’

‘My dad and I listen to a lot of music,’ Edward explained. ‘That’s not even a fragment of all that we have.’

‘Wow,’ Scorpius responded, looking at the little thing. He wondered how so many songs could fit on something so small, but it seemed to be normal based on how Edward talked about it.

With nothing to do after he ate dinner and took his Wolfsbane, Scorpius sat on his bed and read a bit until it was time to go down to the Hospital Wing. Madam Boot insisted on walking with Scorpius to show him where to go. At seven o’clock, Scorpius walked into the Hospital Wing to see Madam Boot. They had an hour to get where they needed to be before moonrise.

‘Just one minute,’ she greeted him. She finished administering the night’s potions to her current invalids and gestured for Scorpius to follow her. They left the castle and started towards the Forbidden Forest. Scorpius wondered where they were going and how they were going to get to the Shrieking Shack when he saw what they were walking straight at.

‘Er, Madam Boot?’ he started slowly. ‘The Whomping Willow…’

‘Yes,’ she responded. ‘Pay attention to the knot you will need to press.’

‘Knot?’ Scorpius asked, but Madam Boot didn’t respond. She took a stick and pressed a knot on the tree. Suddenly, the tree that had just been trying to hit them sat completely still – as though it had been turned into a statue.

‘Whoa,’ Scorpius breathed, shocked. He had never seen the tree stay still ever before. Madam Boot chuckled at his expression and moved to a hole at the base of the tree that Scorpius hadn’t ever noticed before.

‘Here I must leave you,’ she said, stopping just outside of the hole. ‘Follow this tunnel and when you come out you will be in the Shrieking Shack. I will come for you in the morning.’ She gave him a warm smile and Scorpius went on alone. He wasn’t sure how long he had been walking, but it was a long enough trip that he was glad he brought his music player. A few songs later, Scorpius almost tripped on the stairs that appeared. Putting the music player away, he climbed the stairs and emerged in a dingy-looking room. Some efforts had been made to clean it up, but Scorpius could still smell the werewolf that had used it previously as well as something that smelled like… blood? Had someone died in here?

Scorpius did some exploring and found that there was an upper floor as well. In one of the bedrooms, there was a comfortable-looking bed and a floor-to-ceiling mirror. Curiously, he walked up to the mirror and took a good look at his reflection. An extremely pale face peered back at him. Scorpius couldn’t remember being quite so pasty that morning, but he supposed that the approaching full moon did that to a werewolf.

Scorpius barely had time to wonder if he’d be able to tell when the moon was about to come out when he felt the air chill. A thin beam of silver light shone through the curtains and a hot tremour ran through Scorpius’s body. His bones were snapping and contorting and changing, he fell to all fours and bit back a scream of pain as the white hot energy flowed across his nerves. His pores tingled and felt like needles were stabbing them – coarse hair was sprouting out of every one. Scorpius’s human face was elongating into a muzzle while his ears migrated to the top of his head and his teeth sharpened – he tasted blood when one of his canines cut his tongue.

A wolf stood in the middle of the room, where a boy once was, looking torn. There were suddenly two sides of his brain: the wolf side of his brain was resenting being closed up in this tiny room and wanted to break out, but the human side felt tired and just wanted to lie down. It was at this point that the wolf turned and saw its reflection in the mirror. Gazing back out was a silver-grey wolf, but the human side took over when it saw the eyes. It intrigued the wolf – there was something incredibly human in those eyes, and Scorpius recognised himself in them immediately.

He was still wondering at his reflection when the door opened and closed of its own accord. Backing up warily, Scorpius eyed the door. He had been told that the Shack wasn’t actually haunted, but he started to wonder. However, his wonder ceased when Al appeared out of thin air.

‘I got here as soon as I could–’ he started, stopping suddenly when he got a good look at Scorpius. ‘Whoa.’ Scorpius stayed where he was – he didn’t want to scare Al, but Al made the first move. ‘You know, your eyes look the same. That’s odd. I guess you are still human, even though so many people don’t think so.’ And, strolling up to Scorpius, he reached out and rubbed Scorpius’s head. Scorpius licked Al’s arm and moved over to the thing Al had been wearing – it was silver and flowy and on the ground. Scorpius nudged it with his nose and looked up at Al.

‘That’s the Invisibility Cloak,’ Al explained, correctly interpreting Scorpius’s question. ‘It’s been passed down in my family for years. Dad gave James the Map, so I got the Cloak.’ Scorpius wasn’t sure what map Al was talking about, but Al continued talking. ‘However, every now and then Dad needs it for work so I send it back to him, but he sent it back today. I told Professor Sinistra that I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to sleep.’

Scorpius barked a wolf laugh. He was glad that he wasn’t alone. Al stayed with him for a few hours before he had to leave so that he could actually get some sleep. Once he was gone, Scorpius curled up on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

When he woke up, he was back in the Hospital Wing and, judging by the deep ache in his bones, he was human again. He sat up slowly and stretched to see that he was the only one in there – everyone else had been discharged evidently – when Madam Boot bustled over.

‘Good, you’re awake,’ she said, placing a potion on his bedside table. ‘How are you feeling?’

Scorpius stretched once more. ‘Like I was just transformed into a wolf against my will last night,’ he said, feeling extremely sore.

Madam Boot smiled briefly. ‘Well, Professor Poole has excused you from this morning’s class, but Professor Turpin has not. Third period starts in fifteen minutes, so you should get going.’

Scorpius nodded. He had slept through most of his morning. Grateful for Professor Poole’s lenience, Scorpius started his walk to the Charms room. He had to walk slowly – his entire body felt like he had been trampled by a herd of centaurs. It took Scorpius thirteen of his fifteen minutes to walk to the room and he didn’t realise that he didn’t have his bag with him until he sat down. Cursing under his breath, Scorpius made to get up when someone forced him back down.

‘Sit down, you look terrible,’ Liza instructed Scorpius, placing his bag on the table in front of him. Scorpius didn’t even have the energy to retort, he just dropped his head onto the pillow that his bag made for him. It was a rather uncomfortable pillow.

However, Liza wasn’t done. ‘Hey, last night Professor Turpin came to our Astronomy class and–’

Whatever Liza was going to say was cut off when Professor Turpin herself entered the room. Al and Rose sat next to Scorpius, and Al looked like he wanted to go to sleep again even though it was almost lunch time.

‘Now,’ Professor Turpin greeted the class. ‘I expect you all to turn in the assignments I spoke to you about last night.’ Scorpius’s head shot up. What assignment?

As everyone shifted through their things, Scorpius raised his hand. ‘Er, Professor? I didn’t hear about the new assignment.’

‘I spoke to your Astronomy classes last night,’ Professor Turpin said shortly.

‘I wasn’t at class last night,’ Scorpius said. ‘I… er, wasn’t feeling well.’

‘That is no fault of mine,’ she said. ‘Some of your housemates should have told you about it this morning.’

‘I just got out of the Hospital Wing twenty minutes ago,’ Scorpius defended himself.

‘That is no concern of mine,’ Professor Turpin dismissed Scorpius’s defence. ‘You do not have your assignment when it is due and will receive a zero.’

Scorpius felt his mouth drop open. She _knew_ that there was no way he could have done the bloody assignment last night. He saw a similar expression on Al’s face next to him. The rest of the class looked sympathetic – they had come to expect her to treat him like this – but those who knew the whole story looked mutinous. Edward was about to say something to Professor Turpin’s turned back, but Scorpius threw his quill at him. When Edward looked around, Scorpius shook his head vehemently at him. Edward slowly nodded in resignation and reached out to hand Scorpius's quill back. Unfortunately, Professor Turpin turned back to the class and saw. She strode over so quickly that Scorpius wondered if she practiced making the walk from her desk to Scorpius’s.

‘What is going on back here?’ she asked in a dangerous voice.

‘I was just lending Scorpius an extra quill,’ Edward quickly improvised. Scorpius nodded mutely.

‘Five points from Gryffindor for your complete lack of preparation today,’ Professor Turpin said, turning back to continue writing on the blackboard. Scorpius elbowed Al in the ribs to prevent him from saying anything and bent over his notes.

The rest of the class was spent in silence. As everyone filed out to go to lunch, Scorpius received many sympathetic looks and pats on the back. When he and Al left the room, Rose, and Liza were waiting with Edward, Jake, and Aiden.

‘Hey, Fang,’ Edward greeted Scorpius, clapping him on the back. Scorpius stumbled a little and Edward looked instantly horrified. ‘Oh, Merlin, I’m sorry.’

‘It’s okay,’ Scorpius assured him. ‘I’m just a little sore.’

‘Hey,’ Aiden intervened before Edward could cause any more damage. ‘Are you sure you’re okay? That was really bloody unfair.’

Scorpius just shrugged. ‘I’m just glad she didn’t give me a week of detentions or anything like that. Let’s go eat,’ he changed the subject. ‘I’m starving.’

\---

Scorpius’s afternoon classes were considerably better than the morning’s. Professor Allen had given him full credit on the latest homework and they brewed a Forgetfulness Potion in Potions. In the Herbology greenhouse, Professor Longbottom pulled Scorpius aside before class started.

‘What are you doing here?’ he asked. ‘Not to be rude, but you look like you’ve been run over by a Hippogriff or two. You should have been excused from all of your classes today.’

‘I had Charms this morning,’ Scorpius said, barely managing to stifle a huge yawn.

Professor Longbottom’s confusion cleared instantly. ‘Ah, I see. Would you like to have a quick cup of tea with me after class?’

Slightly confused at the sudden topic shift, Scorpius just nodded mutely before he had to sit down for class. The period passed peacefully and soon Scorpius was walking away from the rest of his house to his Head of House’s office.

‘Enter,’ Professor Longbottom’s voice called out when Scorpius knocked. He entered and paused to blink for a moment – the entire office was filled with plants of all sorts.

Professor Longbottom smiled. ‘Yes, I’ve been told that the effect is rather disconcerting at first. Sit down, but careful not to touch that one – it’s a Mimbulus mimbletonia,’ he said, fondly indicating a potted plant sitting at the front of his desk. Unsure what a Mimbulus mimbletonia was or why he shouldn’t touch it, Scorpius carefully sat down in the chair opposite Professor Longbottom.

‘Now,’ he said, passing over a warm cup. ‘I’m sure you’re curious why I asked you here today.’

Scorpius had a guess. ‘Is it something to do with Professor Turpin?’

Professor Longbottom looked approving. ‘Good, you are perceptive. Yes, I do want to talk to you about Professor Turpin. You must have noticed that she has a certain… animosity toward you. Do you know why?’

Scorpius nodded. ‘It’s because of my father, right? Because he was a Death Eater in the Second War?’

‘That’s part of it.’ Professor Longbottom seemed to be choosing his words with caution. ‘Did you know that she had an older brother?’ Scorpius shook his head and Professor Longbottom nodded. ‘He was out of Hogwarts before I was here, but he was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain before Oliver Wood. His name was Derrick.’

Scorpius caught Professor Longbottom’s use of the past tense and looked at him questioningly, taking a sip of his tea.

‘Very good,’ Professor Longbottom nodded again, correctly interpreting Scorpius’s look. ‘Derrick Turpin was rather arrogant when he was at Hogwarts, but his years with the Wasps cooled him down and he even returned to fight in the Final Battle. Unfortunately, he was also one of those who lost their lives in that Battle. Professor Turpin also stayed to fight and when she saw her brother had died, she instantly blamed your father. I don’t know if he did it,’ Professor Longbottom quickly went on, forestalling Scorpius’s question and leaving him with his mouth open. ‘Personally, I don’t think he did, but I don’t know. However, Professor Turpin needed someone to blame, so she settled on the first Death Eater that came to mind – Draco Malfoy. I’m not trying to sway your opinion; I’m just trying to help you understand. A grief-stricken mind is not entirely logical, and I’m not an expert, but I believe that it is the state that creates the most retention. If we tried to convince her now, I don’t think she would believe us. Even if we provided her with concrete proof, it has been long enough now that she would not change her ways.’

Scorpius nodded to show that he understood and was following the conversation, but he quickly drank more tea so he wouldn’t be expected to say anything.

 ‘My best advice would be to just be extra careful in class. Don’t give her more charges to add to your record in her mind.’ Professor Longbottom looked at Scorpius closely. ‘And remember, my office is always open if you need me. Now, I’m keeping you from your dinner. Go eat,’ he said, taking the tea cup back and waving Scorpius out of his office.


	16. Sixteen

Liza’s birthday was February twenty eighth. On that day, she burst into the boys’ room again in the morning.

‘I hope you got me something good!’ she informed them, ruthlessly shaking them awake and leaving again.

‘It’s Wednesday!’ Al exclaimed once he was awake enough to read the clock. ‘Why is she waking us up an hour before breakfast even starts?’

‘It’s her birthday,’ Scorpius reasoned for his friend. However, he hadn’t slept well the previous night – the full moon was in two days – so he wasn’t feeling entirely charitable towards Liza either. Al fell right back to sleep, but Scorpius found that he couldn’t so he got dressed quietly and went down to curl up on a couch in the common room. The fire was roaring nicely and Scorpius felt himself staring into it and thinking. Of all the things he could be thinking about, oddly enough he was dwelling on Quidditch. He wondered if he would even be allowed to try out for the team. If there was ever a match on the day after a full moon, he definitely wouldn’t be able to play given how his first transformation had gone.

Scorpius was lost in his Quidditch daydreams when Rose sat down next to him. ‘Sorry about Liza,’ she apologised. ‘If it’s any comfort, she woke up our entire dorm at five this morning.’

Scorpius laughed. ‘You know, I’m not really all that surprised. But it’s okay – Al was complaining but he just went back to sleep anyway.’

Rose laughed along. ‘Yeah, he would do that. But how are you? You looked like you were deep in thought before I joined you.’

Scorpius shrugged. ‘It wasn’t profound or anything, just Quidditch.’

Rose nodded. ‘That’s a good way to keep your mind occupied. I’m guessing you want to try out next year?’

‘Yeah, I want to be Seeker. What about you?’ Scorpius asked. He had never seen her express a wish to play, but he did see her listening to his and Al’s conversations quite often – more often than Liza anyway.

Rose shook her head. ‘No, I like Quidditch but I just like to watch.’

Scorpius nodded in understanding, he could see how someone might not want to play. They didn’t get a chance to continue their conversation though as Liza appeared at that point and joined them.

‘Thank you!’ she cheered, hugging Scorpius and Rose in turn. She was wearing the new headband that Scorpius had given her. When she saw him looking at it, she hugged him again. ‘I love it! Where did you find it?’

‘Well,’ Scorpius admitted. ‘My mother helped.’

Rose and Liza laughed. ‘We figured you’d say something like that,’ Rose grinned.

Scorpius laughed along. ‘I told her what I wanted to get you,’ he defended himself. ‘She helped me pick out a good one and ordered it for me.’

‘It’s still perfect,’ Liza assured him as Al walked down the stairs. She rushed over to him and Rose took advantage of Liza’s absence to finish her Quidditch conversation with Scorpius.

‘I’m sure you’ll be able to try out,’ she said squeezing his hand and seemingly reading his mind – he hadn’t told her about his uncertainty. ‘There’s no one in the House who can Seek like Vera. Just look at the team in general – it’s all seventh or third years. Obviously everyone else is just rubbish. I’d say you have an excellent shot at making the team next year.’

Scorpius beamed his thanks before Liza returned, dragging Al with her. ‘C’mon, let’s go get some breakfast.’

\---

Fridays were normally Scorpius’s favourite day of the week, so it was unfortunate that the next full moon fell on one. What made it even worse; the next Quidditch match was the following day. Not only did this full moon ruin a perfectly food Friday but Scorpius was going to miss what was looking to be the best Quidditch match of the year so far.

‘Hey Fang,’ Edward sat next to Scorpius, interrupting his brooding. ‘How’re you feeling?’

‘Bloody brilliant,’ Scorpius said, only slightly acidly, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. It wasn’t even dinnertime yet and all Scorpius wanted to do was sleep.

Edward sighed sympathetically. ‘Yeah, you look it. But, hey, you want some company tonight? I asked my aunt and she said I could join you.’

Scorpius opened his eyes. ‘You want to hang with a werewolf on the night of a full moon?’ he asked in a tone that clearly questioned Edward’s sanity.

‘No,’ Edward defended himself. ‘I want to hang with my friend.’

Scorpius smiled. ‘You’ll probably be bored – I usually just sleep. Besides, there’s a Quidditch match tomorrow and you’ll want to be rested for that. It’s supposed to be a good match.’

Edward waved that away. ‘I can sleep after the match. What do you say?’

Scorpius shrugged. ‘If you really want to, and if Madam Boot agrees to let you join.’

‘I told you – I already asked her.’

‘Wait.’ The pieces suddenly clicked together in Scorpius’s mind. ‘Madam Boot is your aunt?’

Edward nodded. ‘She’s my mum’s sister.’

And, in that odd way that the mind works, talking of Madam Boot reminded Scorpius of something. He leapt from his chair suddenly, making Edward jump.

‘Buggering hell, I almost forgot to take the Wolfsbane today!’ And, without giving Edward the chance to respond, he ran out of the common room and to the dungeons.

When he knocked on Professor Heineka’s door, she opened it with a raised eyebrow. ‘I was beginning to wonder when you were going to show up.’

‘Sorry, Professor,’ Scorpius muttered, looking down at his feet.

‘Don’t let it get this late again,’ she warned him, stepping aside so he could enter.

Scorpius nodded mutely and shuffled inside. He filled his goblet and steeled himself against the taste – he was going to try and not cough today. However, when he had drained the goblet, he wound up coughing out of surprise. It wasn’t as good as treacle tart by a long shot, but it wasn’t as disgusting as it had been.

‘Er, Professor?’ Scorpius turned to Professor Heineka to see that she had been watching the entire time with a smile on her face.

‘I did a little experimenting. How was it?’

‘Definitely better,’ Scorpius replied, grinning.

‘Good,’ Professor Heineka looked proud. ‘Now, get going.’

Scorpius thanked her quickly and ran back to the common room – he only had twenty minutes before he had to meet Madam Boot at the Hospital Wing. As he approached the portrait of the Fat Lady, he saw a group of people walking out of it.

‘Hey, Fang,’ Edward called. ‘We were wondering how much longer you would be.’

‘Where are you all going?’ Scorpius asked, immensely curious, as they drew level with him.

‘We’re going to a party,’ Liza told him.

Scorpius felt his spirits plummet, but he tried his hardest not to show it. ‘Oh, okay. Have fun, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.’ He started to turn towards the Hospital Wing.

‘The party’s in the Shrieking Shack,’ Aiden said, stopping Scorpius. Scorpius turned back to see Edward beaming.

‘After you ran off, I talked to Al and he said he was already planning on joining you too, so we turned it into a party.’

Scorpius felt a grin growing on his face. ‘Well then, what are we standing around here for?’

When they reached the Hospital Wing, Scorpius entered alone to find Madam Boot. She was in the middle of administering treatment to Dominique Weasley. Scorpius gave Dominique a wave as Madam Boot finished and got herself ready to walk.

‘Did Edward talk to you?’ she asked.

‘Yeah, and actually–’ Scorpius started to explain but he couldn’t finish before Madam Boot had exited the Hospital Wing and saw the group waiting. She raised an eyebrow and Edward stepped forward.

‘Hey, Aunt Padma. Is it okay if I bring a few friends?’

A few of the friends looked curious at Edward’s announcement of his relation to the school Healer, but Madam Boot ignored them. ‘Did any of you ask your Head of House?’

They all, Scorpius included, looked at each other for a moment, but Madam Boot was smiling. ‘You remind me of your parents. They were always doing this sort of thing. Come along, we’ve wasted enough time already.’

And so, right on time, Scorpius followed Madam Boot towards the Whomping Willow surrounded by his friends who were all chattering away. Once they reached the Shrieking Shack, Liza rounded on Edward.

‘You’re related to Madam Boot?’

Edward shrugged. ‘Yeah, she’s my mum’s sister.’ Scorpius caught Edward’s use of the present tense again and it saddened him, though not as much as when Edward’s face darkened and he corrected himself. ‘Or, I guess she was my mum’s sister,’ he said, looking down.

Rose placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. He looked up and grinned, and even though it wasn’t his usual quirky grin it brightened the mood. ‘So, what shall we do first?’

Al suggested Chess and Rose seconded, so the chess board was set up and Edward challenged Al to the first round. Five minutes later, Edward was swearing loudly and the rest of the group was laughing.

‘Not fair!’ Edward complained. “C’mon, let’s…’ His voice trailed off when he saw Scorpius go rigid. A beam of silver light pierced the room and Scorpius could feel it starting. His friends looked slightly scared, so he darted out of the room. He didn’t want to make them watch. A minute later, he carefully nosed open the door and timidly walked back into the room. Liza and Jake had looks of complete disbelief on their faces, eyes wide. Edward, Rose, and Aiden stood slightly agape, mouths hanging open. Al alone looked perfectly at ease, having been there the previous full moon. He stepped forward and scratched Scorpius’s head. It felt good, Scorpius opened his mouth slightly, his tongue lolling. He probably looked like a right idiot at that point, but he didn’t particularly care.

Liza was the first of the others to break the spell. ‘You’re right, Al,’ she said, stepping closer. ‘His eyes are the same.’ She reached out a hand and Scorpius licked it before walking over and curling up next to the chessboard.

‘Hey Fang,’ Edward greeted him. Aiden and Jake grinned and Rose gave Scorpius a quick hug.

‘Let’s keep going, shall we?’ Aiden suggested, turning everyone’s attention back to the chess tournament. Al and Liza rejoined the group on the floor. Figuring they could carry on without him, Scorpius laid his head down and watched a few more matches before falling asleep, Liza softly stroking his head.


	17. Seventeen

Scorpius awoke in the Hospital Wing again – it was becoming a regular sight. He started the process of waking up entirely when a voice startled him.

‘And Ravenclaw’s Seeker has caught the Snitch!’ Now that he was awake, Scorpius marvelled that he had had been able to sleep through the majority of the match – it was rather loud.

Madam Boot, seeing that he was awake, approached his bed and handed over a potion. ‘How are you feeling this morning?’

Scorpius shrugged; glad to see that he wasn’t so sore that even shrugging hurt. ‘Not all that bad.’

‘Good,’ Madam Boot nodded approvingly. ‘Drink this – you’ll feel better by tomorrow.’

Scorpius nodded gratefully and drank the potion. Madam Boot ran through a quick check up before permitting Scorpius to leave. He thanked her and began to make his way back to the Gryffindor common room. He could hear the bustle of the school returning from the Quidditch pitch. In order to avoid the crowds, Scorpius ducked through a doorway pretending to be a wall and took a short cut back to the Tower. However, since he was walking slowly, Scorpius still arrived in the common room after much of his house. Scorpius saw Al walking up to their dorm and followed, weaving his way through the groups discussing the match.

When he got to the room, Scorpius saw that Al wasn’t the only one making an escape from the crowded common room – Edward, Aiden, and Jake were up there as well. Edward and Jake were already fast asleep; Aiden and Al looked like they would soon join them.

‘Hey, Scorpius,’ Aiden greeted him sleepily. ‘How’re you?’

‘Better than you lot, I think,’ Scorpius grinned, looking at Al who had just fallen asleep sprawling and half falling off of his bed.

Aiden grinned along. ‘Sorry…’ he started before a huge yawn forced him to stop mid-sentence.

Scorpius jumped in before Aiden could continue. ‘Go to sleep, you look terrible.

‘Gee, thanks,’ Aiden laughed sleepily before crawling under his covers and promptly falling asleep.

Scorpius wondered briefly how long they had stayed in the Shrieking Shack after he had gone to sleep as he waved his wand to dim the lights and took out a book to read until the dimmed lights and snores lulled him to sleep as well.

He wasn’t sure how much later it was when he woke up again, but the others were still asleep. He glanced at Jake’s alarm clock and saw that they had ten minutes until dinner. Figuring this would be as good a time as any to wake them up, he calmly announced, ‘Dinner time,’ to the room. Al, ever guided by his stomach, leapt up and only swayed slightly. Jake and Aiden were the next to rise, but Edward didn’t budge. Seeing this, Aiden decided to take matters into his own hands and jumped on Edward’s bed.

‘Get up! We’re hungry and we’ll go eat without you!’

Edward woke up, but he got out of bed slowly – still rather groggy.

‘Good,’ Jake approved of this development and started towards the Great Hall. Scorpius and Al followed.

‘How’re you feeling?’ Al asked Scorpius.

‘I should ask you,’ Scorpius responded. ‘You all were so chipper today. How late did you stay in Hogsmeade?’

Al shrugged. ‘I dunno – whenever Madam Boot came to get you. I think she said it was nine?’

Scorpius gaped. ‘You stayed there until nine this morning? No wonder you all slept all day. I don’t know how you managed to stay awake through the match.’

‘Because it was an amazing match!’ Al insisted, launching into an extensive retelling. It lasted until they sat down at a Gryffindor table, and was told in such a way as only a true Quidditch fan could tell it, and only a true Quidditch fan could appreciate. Scorpius knew Liza would not enjoy listening to it.

‘And then Lovett caught the Snitch and they won!’

Scorpius nodded in appreciation – it had been a great match. He was sad that he’d missed it.

The week before the Easter Holiday was also the week before a full moon. Scorpius noticed that his friends seemed to be extra concerned for him as the day they all would take the train drew closer, but he tried not to give them any reason to worry. However, underneath the front he was putting forth, he was nervous. His parents seemed happy that he was coming home, but he wasn’t sure how they would deal with Saturday’s full moon.

On Friday, the morning before the train left, Scorpius woke up and felt absolutely terrible. He didn’t stay awake for long – he just had time to roll over before he fell back to sleep.

When he woke up the second time, he didn’t open his eyes but he could tell that there was something next to his bed. It didn’t smell like food, which meant it wasn’t Al, so he groggily opened his eyes.

‘Argh!’ he started, nearly falling out of his bed. A house elf was standing right next to his face.

‘Mister Malfoy, you is about to miss class,’ the elf insisted. ‘Your friends asked Winky to wake you up, you needs to go to class.’

Still groggy, Scorpius nodded. ‘Thank you,’ he thanked the elf, getting up slowly and starting to get ready. The elf, ‘Winky’ apparently, bowed low and disappeared. Even though he knew that he had to move quickly, Scorpius found that he simply couldn’t. Resigned to being late, Scorpius was walking out of the portrait hole when he heard the bell ringing, signaling the start of the class period.

‘Sorry I’m late, Professor,’ Scorpius apologised as he walked into class twenty minutes late.

Professor Allen looked at him like she was ready to reprimand him, but quickly changed her mind.

‘It’s okay, Scorpius. Please see me after class. I’m sure you can get the notes you’ve missed from your friends.’

Scorpius nodded his thanks and sat between Liza and Al.

‘Are you okay?’ Al asked, concern etched in his face. Scorpius stifled a yawn and just nodded before focusing on Professor Allen. He didn’t want Al to worry – he already worried too much about Scorpius.

Scorpius managed to stay focused for the rest of the double period with Liza’s help and when the bell rang he slowly packed while the rest of the class left. He made to get up to walk to Professor Allen’s desk, but she stopped him.

‘No, you stay sitting,’ she insisted, walking over to him. Not needing to be told twice, Scorpius sank back in his chair.

Professor Allen sat across the desk from him and looked at him closely. ‘How much do you know about lycanthropy?’

This question startled Scorpius slightly – he wasn’t sure what he had been expecting but it wasn’t that. ‘Er, not very much at all, to be very honest.’

Professor Allen nodded. ‘We won’t be studying werewolves until your third year, but I thought you might like to know a few key points now. First, as you will have noticed, it generally takes anywhere from six to eighteen hours to recover from a full moon. Second, your transformations will become normal and common for you, but they will always hurt and leave you sore. And third, it seems as though you’ve left the early phase. In the early phase, you don’t feel too poorly before a full moon and it takes a fairly short time to recover. Unfortunately, it seems as though you have moved into the normal phase. Now the effects of the waxing moon will have a greater effect on you for one to two days before it is full and it will likely take you longer to recover.’

Scorpius nodded to show that he understood. ‘The early phase is only two months long?’

Professor Allen shook her head. ‘Not usually. Normally it lasts for six months to a year, but based on my observations these past few days I believe that you have moved on. I spoke with Madam Boot and she suggested that perhaps you were bitten at the very start of your body’s puberty cycle. If this is true, it will affect your case. Most people are bitten when they are very young or later on in life – no real record has been kept of a person that has been bitten at your age. That’s another reason for my asking you to stay a moment. If you are willing, I would like to keep track of you. Basically, every month right before the full moon I and Madam Boot will perform a checkup of sorts. You are perfectly free to say no, it is your life.’

Scorpius thought about it. He had thought that puberty came later than twelve. When he voiced this thought aloud, Professor Allen nodded. ‘Yes, normally puberty doesn’t hit for another one to two years, but it is very possible that you are merely an early bloomer.’

Scorpius nodded and continued thinking. If he agreed, he would have monthly visits to the Hospital Wing, and not just to meet Madam Boot so they can walk together. Though, he smirked to himself, he probably would be in there more often if he hadn’t been bitten. Just the previous morning Al had shoved Scorpius out of bed and Scorpius had sliced open his arm on a protruding nail. There had been quite a lot of blood, but it was healed nicely now and the only evidence of it was a faint pink line stretching from his wrist to his elbow.

The dominating thought that occurred to Scorpius was that a record might help. If some other poor person was bitten and in a similar situation to his, maybe an account of what happened would help them be a little easier about their fate.

‘Alright, I’ll do it,’ he assented.

Professor Allen smiled. ‘Thank you. We will start today, if you don’t mind, during break. Now, I am sure you are hungry and I have kept you from your lunch for far too long. Go eat.’

\---

So, an hour and a lunch later, Scorpius was walking to the Hospital Wing. Al had volunteered to go with him, but Liza and Rose ganged up on him so Al was currently sitting in the common room and finishing the Herbology homework that was due later that day.

When Scorpius walked into the Hospital Wing, Madam Boot pointed him to a bed and he sat down to wait. Once Professor Allen arrived, they began.

Scorpius was five feet tall and weighed eighty pounds. Evidently that was rather average. While he was sitting on the edge of a bed, Madam Boot hit his knee with a hammer-type of thing and his leg kicked out.

‘What was that?’ Scorpius asked in surprise. He hadn’t consciously made his leg kick.

‘That tests your reflexes,’ she responded as Professor Allen continued taking notes. ‘Yours are very good.’

Scorpius nodded as she continued her various tests. She listened to his breathing through his chest and back, and tested his flexibility. Once Madam Boot was done with her tests, she and Professor Allen switched places.

Professor Allen did the werewolf half of the examination. She asked leading questions that made Scorpius think about how he’d been feeling and reacting to things in the past few months – like how it felt to transform, how he felt after a transformation, what it was like during the week before. She also had him test his senses of smell, sight and hearing – they were rather pronounced. Professor Allen even seemed surprised at how sharp they were. Scorpius hoped that wasn’t a bad thing.

\---

The train ride back to King’s Cross was a rather silent one. It was still the day before the full moon, so Scorpius spent the entire ride sitting in a corner and resting his face on the cool glass. When they rolled into the station, Al helped Scorpius get his trunk off the train before Scorpius’s father took over.

‘See you later,’ he called as he walked off of Platform Nine and Three Quarters and to the car. His father noticed how quiet and tired Scorpius was, so he didn’t pester him with questions or anything yet. Once inside the car, Scorpius promptly fell asleep before his father even put the car into drive.

When he woke up, his father was carrying him into the house while his mother was fussing over him.

‘He looks so pale,’ she commented as Scorpius’s father set him down on a couch.

‘’S okay,’ Scorpius tried to assure her, voice thick as he still worked at waking up. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

‘Well, stay here, anyway,’ she instructed. ‘I’ll bring you some hot chocolate.’

Smiling at the opportunity to have hot chocolate without making it himself or instructing someone else, Scorpius nodded and leaned back into the couch. This had always been his favourite couch – when you sat down, you sank into it.

His father reappeared and sat in a chair next to Scorpius’s couch. ‘I’ve put your trunk in your room,’ he told Scorpius.

‘Thanks,’ Scorpius nodded as his mother reentered the room with three mugs of hot chocolate.

‘How have you been, love?’ she asked, sitting next to Scorpius on the couch and placing a hand on his shoulder.

Scorpius cocked his head slightly. He had only ever heard her use that term when talking to his dad.

His father caught it too, and seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Scorpius. ‘I’m doing well, dear,’ Scorpius’s father said, winking at Scorpius who snorted into his hot chocolate.

‘Oh, hush,’ Scorpius’s mother shook her head at the pair of them.

Scorpius smirked, but answered his mother’s question. ‘I’ve been doing fairly well. Classes are going well.’

‘Is Potions still your favourite?’ Scorpius’s father asked.

Scorpius was briefly surprised; he didn’t remember writing about that to his father. When he looked over, he shrugged.

‘I read your letters to your mother,’ he explained, unabashed. Scorpius’s mother smacked him playfully on the arm and Scorpius laughed as he answered in the affirmative.

‘How are Al, Liza, and Rose?’ was the next question from his mother.

‘They’re good, I think they all went home for the holiday,’ Scorpius answered, draining his mug and needing to use the toilet. He excused himself and made his way out of the room.

As he was walking back, he heard his name. Scorpius debated for a moment – his previous experiences of eavesdropping has not been the best – but his curiosity got the better of him.

‘Scorpius seems taller to me, does he to you?’ his mother was asking.

‘I think you’re just shrinking, hon,’ his father responded. Scorpius heard the sound of a hand hitting a shoulder. ‘What?’ his father asked, laughing.

‘I am not shrinking!’ his mother insisted. There were a few moments of silence before she spoke again. ‘He’s definitely changed – it seems like he’s gotten older, matured. Did you see how surprised he was when you carried him in and when you joked?’ Scorpius felt himself flushing – he hadn’t thought he’d been that obvious.

‘Yes,’ his father muttered, slightly sullenly.

‘It was a happy surprise,’ his mother insisted.

‘He shouldn’t’ve been surprised at all,’ his father retorted. ‘I promised myself that I would be a better father to Scorpius than my father was to me, but I guess even promises to yourself have to be broken every now and then.’

Scorpius couldn’t bear to hear his father talk like that, so he entered the room. His parents were sitting close together and holding hands. His mother made a noise of surprise, but Scorpius looked straight at his father. ‘You are and have been a good father, Dad.’ Calling them Mum and Dad seemed to have stuck, and Scorpius didn’t mind it. His parents also seemed pleased at this drop in formality.

His dad held his gaze and neither looked away, embarrassed. Scorpius knew it was the Malfoy determination shining through in them both.

‘If I had been a better one, you would have wanted to come home for Christmas.’

‘Merlin’s pants, you’re still worrying about that?’ Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. ‘Again, I insist – _stop blaming yourself_.’

‘You still have time,’ Scorpius’s mum said, squeezing his dad’s hand.

Scorpius’s dad nodded briefly. When he looked up, Scorpius saw that he had a gleam in his eye. ‘You want to test your new broom?’

Scorpius beamed. ‘Really?’

His dad smiled, so Scorpius ran to his room to get his broom. When he made it to the back, his dad already had mounted his own broom and was hovering a few feet off the ground.

‘Please be careful,’ Scorpius’s mum asked from the doorway to the house. Scorpius nodded as he quickly mounted his broom and kicked off the ground.

Scorpius felt his face light up and break into a huge smile as he rose higher and felt the air rush past him. His dad followed him up and pointed at something in the distance.

‘I’ll race you to that hill,’ he called, taking off.

‘No fair!’ Scorpius yelled, speeding to chase him. His dad just laughed.

Back in Cranbrook, the pub was filled for dinner. A few patrons looked out the window and saw a strange sight, but quickly dismissed it. After all, people couldn’t actually fly on brooms.


	18. Eighteen

The next morning, Scorpius woke up ravenously hungry. He smelled something really good and followed his nose to the kitchen, where his mum was helping Grennie make a full English breakfast – there were eggs, bacon, baked beans, black pudding, bangers and mash, toast, fruit and cereal.

‘Good morning,’ his mum greeted him, setting this Wolfsbane down in front of him. ‘Drink this first.’

Scorpius obliged, glad for Professor Heineka’s continued experimenting – it almost tasted good now. Almost. He still coughed after downing it.

Scorpius’s mum nodded approvingly and set a full plate down in front of him as his dad walked in, pyjama clad and hair ruffled. Scorpius felt his eyes widen, but his parents were greeting each other with a hug so neither noticed. Scorpius wondered how many more surprises were in store over the holiday as he continued eating his breakfast.

Scorpius practically devoured his first serving and was filling his plate a second time before his mum even sat down with her first plate.

‘Are you hungry?’ she teased, helping him pile his plate high with eggs and bacon.

‘Just a little,’ he said, grinning. He wondered if his appetite was due to the wolf puberty, but didn’t have time to share this development with his parents while shovelling food into his mouth.

His parents were sitting and eating together at the table when Scorpius went to get a third helping. He was about to return to his spot at the bar when he saw his dad gesturing for him to join them at the table. He stopped to grab his glass of orange juice and sat at the table.

‘Do you always eat so much for breakfast?’ his dad asked as Scorpius sat down.

Scorpius shrugged. ‘Not really. Professor Allen thinks that the werewolf thing might be speeding up my development.’

His mum looked surprised and his dad arched an eyebrow.

‘I told you he was taller,’ Scorpius’s mum turned to his dad triumphantly. They laughed and his mum continued. ‘How much will it affect you, do you know?’

Scorpius shook his head and swallowed his bite of bacon. ‘Professor Allen said that no real records have been kept of someone bitten when I was, so we’re starting one.’

Scorpius’s mum looked proud. ‘Then I’ll be sure to keep plenty of food ready.’

Scorpius grinned as he polished off his third plate of breakfast. ‘Sounds good to me.’

\---

As the day wore on, Scorpius felt his nerves slowly fraying until there was only thirty minutes until moonrise and he retreated to his room. He shoved most of his things into his closet to clear off space on the floor and lounged on his bed, wondering if it would be as comfortable as the one in the Shrieking Shack to a wolf.

He was staring pensively at his ceiling when the air chilled and he saw the moon out his window. Even though he was gradually becoming used to transforming, it still hurt.

Five minutes later, Scorpius was pacing his room and feeling restless when he heard footsteps approaching his room. As the footsteps drew closer, Scorpius smelled his mum and dad. The smells intensified when the door opened and they both tentatively looked in. Scorpius sat in the middle of the floor and perked his ears up as he looked at them.

Scorpius’s dad grinned, but his mum made the first move. She walked in and knelt down to give Scorpius a hug. When she backed away, Scorpius saw that there were tears in her eyes so he licked her cheek and gave a wolf grin. She laughed and Scorpius’s dad entered the room. He rubbed Scorpius’s head like he would be if he was ruffling his hair and gestured to the door.

‘You want to go outside?’

Scorpius gave his wolf grin again and bounded past his dad into the corridor. He waited for his parents and walked happily next to them as they all went to the back yard. Once the back door was opened, Scorpius ran out and ran around the lawn. He saw his parents smiling as they watched him chasing fireflies and enjoying the fresh air.

Once Scorpius grew tired enough, he went back into his room and curled up on his bed – finding it to be just as comfortable as the one in the Shrieking Shack.

\---

When Scorpius woke up, he was momentarily confused. Why wasn’t he in the Hospital Wing? As his brain woke up, though, he remembered the previous night and he felt himself grinning. He was still sore, like usual, but his parents had come to him as a wolf – they had sought him out, they wanted to see him.

Scorpius was lying in bed and happily thinking and ignoring his sore body when he realised that his feet were hanging off the edge of the bed. They hadn’t been like that the previous day. Scorpius stood up and noticed that he had grown overnight. Suddenly, his arms and legs felt long and lanky – he didn’t know what to do with them. He felt rather off balance, and he figured that the previous night’s full moon hadn’t helped him at all.

He was debating whether he was hungry enough to attempt walking to the kitchen when his door opened and his mum appeared with a tray of food.

‘Eat up,’ she grinned. ‘Your father and I would like to take you somewhere today.’

Scorpius nodded and immediately followed her instructions. He chatted with her in between bites about school and friends, and when he was finished she took the tray and left him to get ready.

Clueless as to where they would be going, Scorpius dressed in his Muggle clothes and encountered his first trouble – his overnight growth spurt had left his jeans a good two inches too short. He figured that he had grown two inches overnight as he opened his door.

‘Er, mum?’ he called, hoping she hadn’t walked too far.

Luckily she hadn’t – she turned when she heard him calling her. ‘Yes?’

Scorpius indicated his ankles and he saw her eyebrows rise. She called Grennie who performed quick spell and Scorpius saw the bottom edges unfold until they were long enough again.

‘We’ll go to Madam Malkin’s soon, if your trousers are that short I imagine your robes are too small too.’ She looked into his face, not having to look down quite as far as before, and smiled before leaving again with the empty breakfast tray.

Wondering where they would be going, Scorpius finished getting ready and walked to the parlour where his parents were waiting for him.

‘Where are we going?’ he asked as his dad threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace.

‘Just listen,’ he responded, smiling as he stepped into the fireplace.

‘The Black home!’ his dad said before he was swept away.

The Black home? Scorpius looked to his mum for explanation, but she just smiled the same smile as his dad and gestured for Scorpius to go ahead.

‘The Black home,’ Scorpius said when he stepped into the emerald flames and was whisked away. He stepped out of a fireplace and promptly tripped, unused to legs that were slightly longer than the previous day and still rather sore.

‘Careful,’ a voice cautioned. ‘Jackie likes to blame me whenever something breaks while she’s gone.’

Scorpius looked up into Mr Black’s laughing face and grinned as well. As he straightened up, Mr Black’s eyes widened. ‘You’ve gotten taller since Christmas.’

Scorpius's grin turned into a grimace. ‘Yeah, my legs feel so much longer, even though I think I’ve only grown two or three inches.’

Mr Black laughed as Scorpius’s mum stepped out of the fireplace. ‘I remember that phase – don’t worry, you’ll grow out of it soon enough.’

Scorpius laughed along and joined his mum and dad.

‘Thank you for letting us use your fireplace, Trent,’ Scorpius’s dad said.

‘Not a problem, Draco,’ Mr Black responded, shaking Scorpius’s dad’s hand. ‘Glad I could help you.’

Scorpius’s dad smiled and followed as Mr Black led them out. Scorpius felt like he had a hundred questions pressing on his mind, but the first that came out was, ‘Dad, you know Mr Black?’

Scorpius’s dad nodded. ‘We work together.’

That only added to the questions, but Scorpius didn’t have the chance to ask any. They walked to the house next-door to the Blacks and a woman moved to greet them.

‘Ah, Mr and Mrs Malfoy, I’m glad you could make it. And this is young Scorpius, I assume?’

Scorpius's dad introduced Scorpius to the woman – Mrs White – and asked if she had the paperwork ready. Scorpius looked to his mum again for explanation, and she beamed at him.

‘What do you think of the house, Scorpius?’

‘Er,’ Scorpius looked up at it. It seemed nice, but he wasn’t an expert or anything. ‘It’s nice?’

‘Would you want a room that faces this way or out to the woods?’ she asked, an odd gleam in her eye.

‘Wait,’ Scorpius started slowly, a grin growing on his face. ‘ _My_ room?’

‘Of course,’ his dad said, smiling. ‘Welcome to our new home, Scorpius.’

Scorpius felt his face light up and when Mrs White asked if they wanted to go inside he nodded and ran up to the door. Mrs White opened it with a key – Scorpius briefly wondered why she didn’t use her wand but then he was off and exploring the house.

There were two floors. On the ground floor, there was as a sitting room that faced the street along with a kitchen, dining room and den. The first floor held the master suite, two other bedrooms and a bathroom. After examining the two bedrooms, Scorpius chose the one that faced the forest – it was smaller but he would be able to watch the trees and any animals that chanced by.

As he walked back down the stairs, Scorpius heard Mrs White describing the neighbourhood to his parents.

‘There are quite a few families in the area with children that are Scorpius’s age, though the ones that live closest go to a boarding school in Scotland.’

‘That’s just fine,’ his mum said. ‘Scorpius actually goes to a boarding school as well.’

‘Ah, I see. Well, if you’ll follow me, I have the paperwork here…’

They walked to another part of the house and Scorpius understood why Mrs White hadn’t used a wand to unlock the door – she was a Muggle. Which meant that she didn’t know that this neighbourhood was rather famous in the Wizarding World. It seemed that Scorpius was only discovering more and more questions as he went through the morning, but most of them would have to wait until they got back to Malfoy Manor.

Not all though. ‘When are we moving in?’ he asked, watching his dad sign multiple papers.

‘We’re going to start packing today, so maybe in two days,’ his mum answered. Scorpius nodded and walked through the back door to explore further.

It bordered the forest – that would be helpful during full moons. It smelled like rabbits, though. Scorpius thought that was odd until he realised that the smell was coming from the direction of the house. He walked to where it was the strongest and saw a nest of rabbits. As he got closer, the wind shifted and suddenly they could smell him – they bolted. He must still smell like wolf; he’d have to get his mum to relocate them.

As he thought this, his mum called him back inside – they were leaving. His parents shook hands with Mrs White, then she held out her hand to shake Scorpius’s.

‘It was a pleasure to meet you, Scorpius,’ she said, smiling. ‘I’m glad you like the house.’

‘Thank you, ma’am,’ Scorpius responded. ‘It was nice meeting you too.’

They parted and the Malfoys stood in the walkway, talking as Mrs White drove away.

‘We were actually thinking about moving in tonight,’ Scorpius’s mum said as they walked back to the Black’s to Floo home. ‘We have new furniture being delivered later today – most of the things at the Manor are too large or too ornate for this house.’

‘We’re really moving to Godric’s Hollow?’ Scorpius blurted, unable to keep quiet any longer.

His parents smiled. ‘Yes.’

‘What are we going to do with the manor?’

Scorpius’s dad shrugged. ‘Most likely we’ll just leave it. There are enough rumours around the town, I’m sure they’ll come up with an explanation. Maybe Mother and Father can move back in, if they want to.’

‘Why?’ Scorpius hadn’t meant to ask that one yet, but it fell out of his mouth before he could stop it.

‘Well,’ his mum began. ‘Your father and I have been talking recently, and the manor is rather exposed. It would be easier for a Muggle to accidentally see you there as a wolf.’

‘Besides,’ his dad added. ‘I’m closer to work here, and Trent lives just next door so that will help when we have projects together.’

They spoke casually, but Scorpius could sense that they weren’t telling him the entire truth. He suspected it had something to do with the new leaf his dad had turned over, but he still had other questions.

‘So you work with Mr Black?’ Scorpius asked. His dad nodded, so Scorpius continued. ‘What _do_ you do?’

‘We’re Unspeakables,’ Mr Black chimed in as they entered his house. ‘So we can’t actually tell you what we do, but we’re partners so we pretty much do it all together.’

He smiled at Scorpius’s dad, who grinned back – Scorpius could tell that they were remembering some incident.

‘Well, I’ll be seeing you all soon, I’m guessing?’ Mr Black said as he led them back to the fireplace.

Scorpius’s dad nodded. ‘We’re moving in by tonight, most of the furniture and things should be delivered by this afternoon.’

Mr Black nodded. ‘Then I’ll see you soon,’ he said, shaking their hands before the family Flooed back to the manor.

Scorpius thought it was incredible how the house could suddenly feel so foreign, large and cold – especially in light of their new home.

‘I’m going to run to the Ministry and submit all the forms,’ Scorpius's dad told his wife. He paused and looked like he was thinking about something before offering, ‘Would you like to come with me, Scorpius?’

Scorpius felt a grin grow on his face – he rarely got to go on anything like an outing with his parents – and nodded. His dad grinned back and stepped back into the green fire.

‘The Ministry of Magic!’ he said before being whisked away. Scorpius followed him, and when he stumbled out the fireplace on the other end he looked around in awe.

They were in a huge atrium scattered with fireplaces on one side and lifts on the other. In the middle, stood a large fountain – it was of a wizard, witch, Muggle and all sorts of magical creatures all standing linked together. A small sign at the base read ‘This Statue of Interspecies Peace was erected in 1999 and is dedicated to all those who lost their lives in the Wizarding Wars. All proceeds are donated to St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.’

Scorpius’s dad smiled at Scorpius’s amazement and led him past the reception desk and to the lifts. Scorpius didn’t notice what floor he pressed – he was too busy looking at the purple paper memos flapping about above their heads – but when the lift stopped a cool woman’s voice announced that it was ‘Level Two; Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services.’ Scorpius and his dad exited the lift here and proceeded to the small office of Wizarding Housing Services. The office’s main (almost only) purpose was to keep track of where Wizarding families lived, so it was here that Scorpius went with his dad to inform the Ministry that they were moving. Scorpius's dad had already filled out the paperwork, so he handed it in to the woman sitting behind the desk.

‘Okay, Mr Malfoy,’ she said once she had looked through it all. ‘Everything seems to be in order. Now, you just need a witch or wizard living in Godric’s Hollow to speak for you.’

Scorpius could see that his dad had either forgotten or wasn’t aware of this part. He was about to say something when the woman found another paper on her desk.

‘Oh, never mind, someone already has. Thank you, Mr Malfoy, and congratulations on your new home.’

Scorpius’s dad thanked her and they left the office.

‘It must have been Trent,’ Scorpius’s dad determined. ‘Remind me to thank him later.’

Scorpius nodded as they got back into a lift. ‘Why d’you think we needed someone to speak for us?’ he asked.

Scorpius’s dad shrugged. ‘I assume it’s because Godric’s Hollow is a rather famous town,’ he said, too casually.

‘You mean it’s because I’m a werewolf,’ Scorpius said, sighing.

‘Er,’ Scorpius’s dad said, looking at his own feet. ‘It’s probably more likely because I was a Death Eater,’ he continued, surprising Scorpius. His dad had never told Scorpius outright about that. Scorpius looked up at his dad and his dad nodded. ‘I’ve been wondering when this would come up. When we get home, let’s take a walk.’

Scorpius nodded and they walked in silence to the fireplaces. Back at Malfoy Manor, Scorpius's dad grabbed lunch for them both and led the way to the yard.

‘I can see the questions burning in your eyes,’ Scorpius’s dad said once they were outside. ‘Go ahead and ask.’

‘Do you still have the tattoo?’ Scorpius blurted. That wasn’t the first question he had wanted to ask, but it was something he had wondered for a long time.

Scorpius’s dad rolled up his left sleeve. ‘Only part of it.’ The snake’s head was still visible while the rest was gone, though Scorpius could see the marks of where it once had been. His sight had become rather pronounced. ‘I left the small bit to remind myself of what happened.’

‘Why did you become a Death Eater?’ Scorpius asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.

His dad sighed. ‘I thought that it would be a defining moment for my life, that it was what I’d always known I should become. It was the wrong thing to do.’

Scorpius watched his dad’s face in amazement. He had never been so open and honest with Scorpius before. But he wasn’t done.

‘I was so proud at first, I was the one chosen to kill Dumbledore. But then I realised that it was merely supposed to be punishment for my father’s mistakes. You-Know-Who didn’t expect me to succeed, and he planned to kill me and my family when I failed.’

‘Oh.’ Scorpius thought about it for a moment – he couldn’t imagine what it must have been like. However, he still had more questions. ‘How did you meet mum?’

His dad smirked. ‘Well, there’s an interesting story. Believe it or not, I wasn’t always the dashing man you see today.’ Scorpius snorted, and his dad grinned. ‘No, really, my sixth and seventh years at school were rather stressful – I lost a lot of weight and looked something terrible and started to withdraw from everyone. Well, about a year after the Battle and trials, your grandparents threw a grand party – they said that they wanted to show that we Malfoys were still high class, I think they wanted to force me to socialise more. The Greengrasses were invited to this soiree. Your aunt Daphne and I both knew that our parents wanted us to marry, but we also knew that we’d never be anything more than good friends. We did have a good time talking, though. That was when I first heard about your Uncle Mark – Daphne told me about this American wizard that she’d met. Well, we seemed to have given off the wrong impression to everyone watching us as we talked because your mother came up to wish us congratulations. Daphne introduced us, your mum and I, but informed her sister that we weren't actually engaged. She wanted proof, so I pulled your mum in for a kiss.’

Scorpius grinned. ‘What did mum do?’

Scorpius’s dad grinned as well. ‘She slapped me and said something about “completely out of line” and stormed off to tell our parents.’

Scorpius laughed – he could see his mum doing something like that.

Scorpius’s dad laughed as well. ‘Yes, that was how we met. Daphne’s parents, once they heard about the mysterious new American wizard in her life, were just fine with her not marrying me. And my parents, when they saw me kiss your mum, decided that they had picked the wrong Greengrass to set me up with.’

‘Why did Grandfather and Grandmother move out?’ was Scorpius’s next question.

‘It was shortly after your mother and I became engaged,’ his dad replied. ‘We said that we would find another place, but they wanted us to keep the Manor and so they moved out. Your grandmother was also feeling ill at the time, so they found their place to live on the coast in Sussex. The fresh sea air helped, and they like it there, so they haven’t moved back.’

Scorpius nodded. As they drew nearer the house, he heard his mum calling him in.

‘Go on inside,’ his dad said, smiling. Scorpius smiled back and ran inside, somehow managing to not trip over his own feet.

‘Yes, mum?’ he asked once he saw her.

‘You need to pack up your room,’ she reminded him. ‘I’ll come and help you in a little while if you need it.’

Scorpius nodded and went to his room. Wondering what he would pack everything in, he started with his trunk and piled in what clothes he’d not taken to Hogwarts, all the while thinking about what his dad had shared. He’d never been so open and honest before. And Scorpius had enjoyed the story of how his parents had met – he was laughing to himself when his mum entered the room.

She smiled at him. ‘Do you want some help or can you manage?’

Scorpius looked around his room. He had just managed to fit all of his clothes into his trunk, but he still had to go through the desk, not to mentions the various things strewn all about the floor.

‘Er, please?’ he said, grinning sheepishly. His room was a mess.

‘Of course,’ she agreed, going to his desk.

With her help, they got his room all packed up just in time to get some dinner before they moved. Scorpius helped Grennie make a lamb stew and they all ate one last meal in the house.

After eating, Scorpius helped his dad Floo their things into their new house while his mum and Grennie cleaned up from their meal. They weren’t taking as much as they could have, since they were leaving the furniture, and Scorpius and his dad got all of their things moved by the time Grennie and his mum were done. When they got into the house, Scorpius lugged his things up to his room as he saw his mum wave her wand to get the downstairs things sorted. Scorpius wondered how on Earth Muggles managed to move everything in their homes – his one room was bad enough without having to deal with the entirety of the rest of the house.

In his room though, Scorpius spent some time figuring out how to best situate his things. The best (and final) plan was to have his desk and bed on the wall with the window, his desk being under the window, and his dresser next to the door. He got some things unpacked and, contented, said good night to his parents and went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that I'm actually in the process of buying a house, it's laughable how I wrote the process here. Obviously I wrote that bit a while ago when I had no idea how any of it worked, and now the process is just making me angry in real life so I don't want to rewrite this bit.


	19. Nineteen

The next morning, Scorpius told his mum about the nest of rabbits and she agreed to relocate them. While she was doing that, Scorpius composed a letter to Al to ask what he was doing that day. One advantage of living so close now was that he didn’t have to wait long before Merlin was back with a reply.

_Hey Scorpius,_  
Maybe we can so something this afternoon. A new family moved in down the street and apparently my dad knows them so we’re going to go meet them. I hope they’re nice.  
Let me know if this afternoon works, my mum said that you can come over here.  
-Al

Scorpius grinned at Al’s note – it was the perfect opportunity to surprise him.

‘Mum, dad?’ he called, walking down the stairs. They were both in the kitchen which made it easier for Scorpius. ‘I think the Potters are going to come over soon to welcome us to the neighbourhood.’

They both nodded and, with remarkable timing, the doorbell rang. Scorpius went to answer it, but it wasn’t who he had been expecting.

‘Hey, Scorpius,’ Mrs Black greeted him. ‘It’s good to see you again.’

‘Thank you, ma’am,’ Scorpius replied, leading Mr and Mrs Black along with Jordan, Juliet, and Zeren into the house. His parents had emerged from the kitchen and started towards the door, so they all met in the hallway. Scorpius introduced the younger generation to his mum as his dad shook Mr Black’s hand.

‘Thank you for speaking for us at the Ministry, Trent,’ he said. ‘I had entirely forgotten about that part until Scorpius and I went to turn everything in.’

Mr Black shook his head. ‘It wasn’t actually me. I went there to do it, but the woman told me that someone had already.’

Scorpius’s dad looked surprised, but he recovered himself quickly. ‘Well, thanks for being ready to. Did they say who it was?’

Mr Black shook his head again, but Scorpius didn’t hear the rest of the conversation as Jordan pulled him aside.

‘Hey,’ he said in an undertone. ‘That snotty little first year, Rachael Something, she’s planning something. I heard her talking about how she’s gonna “show those Gryffindors” in the common room. I know what she did to you at that one Quidditch match, so watch out.’

Scorpius blinked in surprise, but nodded his thanks. ‘Er, don’t mind me asking, but why are you telling me?’

Jordan smiled. ‘I like you. I also like that Nott kid, Jason, and he seems to like you too. Just be careful.’

‘Thanks,’ Scorpius replied. They didn’t have time to talk further, though, because it was time for the Blacks to leave – they were spending the day in Diagon Alley. Scorpius said his good byes and started thinking.

So, at least Jordan didn’t like Rachael. Scorpius wondered if more Slytherins were on her side or not. But what was that whole thing about ‘showing those Gryffindors’? What could she be planning with that? If it involved shoving more people down stairs, Scorpius hoped she started with him again – he wanted to see her face when he just stood up and healed from whatever injury she caused.

Smiling at that mental picture, Scorpius didn’t realise the doorbell had rung again until Grennie appeared and opened the door.

‘Good morning, you must be Albus,’ she said.

Scorpius heard Al’s extremely confused voice outside their door. ‘Er, yes, ma’am.’

Scorpius decided to help him out, so he walked to stand behind the elf and poked his head out. ‘Hey Al, this is Grennie, our house elf. I’ve told her rather a lot about you.’

The look on Al’s face was rather comical. When he saw Scorpius, his jaw became acquainted with the ground and it tool Lily and James’s combined efforts to break his shocked stare. When he finally blinked again, the family was walking into the house. ‘You didn’t tell me!’ Al accused. ‘And you’re taller than me!’

‘I didn’t know till yesterday,’ Scorpius defended himself. ‘And I’m hitting a growth spurt, I think.’ He looked around and was glad to see that his parents were conversing easily with the rest of the Potters.

‘I mean,’ Al continued, ‘dad said that he was going to vouch for someone to move in here, but I had no idea that it could be you.’

‘Wait, your dad?’ Scorpius interjected.

Al nodded. ‘Yeah. He came home late one day and said it was because he went to speak for a new family. I wished it could’ve been you, but I thought it was just going to be the Thomases or the Jordans or someone like that.’

Scorpius didn’t have much time to dwell on his surprise because he wanted to show Al everything. When they got to his room, Al’s eyes were instantly drawn to the Thunderbolt and his jaw dropped again.

‘Merlin’s pants, a real Thunderbolt,’ he breathed.

‘Al, you knew my dad got me this,’ Scorpius pointed out.

‘Yeah, but now it’s right in front of me. Can I touch it?’

Scorpius laughed and nodded, so Al reached out tentatively and laid a finger on it. The broom immediately reacted – it rose up and hovered at waist level.

‘Wicked,’ Al said, his face splitting into a huge grin. ‘Let’s go fly!’

 Scorpius agreed and they both ran back down the stairs to find Scorpius’s parents. His mum was chatting with Mrs Potter and Lily while his dad talked Quidditch with Mr Potter and James.

‘Mum, can I go flying with Al?’ Scorpius asked as Al pounced on his mum, ‘Mum, can I go flying with Scorpius?’

Both mums assented, so the boys ran to Al’s house to get his broom. While they were there, Scorpius asked Al where they would be flying.

‘There’s a clearing in the woods. We set up goal posts,’ Al explained. ‘The trees are high enough that no one will see us, and mum and dad put some spell on our practice balls so that they won’t go flying away.’

Once Al found his broom, (‘just a Nimbus 5000,’ he complained, though it had been the best broom on the market for numerous years before the Thunderbolt’s recent release) he led Scorpius to the clearing he had mentioned. It was the size of an actual Quidditch pitch, with three goal posts on either side and raised seats for those who wanted to watch instead of play. Next to the seats was a small shed – that was where Al went to grab the Quaffle.

They had kicked off and were throwing the Quaffle when they heard people approaching. Looking down, James appeared leading his family, Scorpius’s parents, and the rest of the wizarding neighbours.

‘Fancy a match?’ James called up to Scorpius and Al, who immediately flew down. The debate for who would be captain was getting heated between Al, James, Juliet, and Zeren when Mrs Wood had to resort to holding out sticks for them all. From there, Dorian and Jordan were declared captains as everyone divided up based on what position they wanted to play. Scorpius ended up Seeking on Jordan’s team – he was more than slightly nervous about having to Seek against Mr Potter. But when Mrs Wood blew the whistle and they all kicked off, Scorpius quickly forgot about his apprehensions in the thrill of flying. He rose higher than the others and immediately started looking for the Snitch. Kyra and Allyson were working together to give a rather spirited commentary.

‘And today we bring you the heated rivalry between the… erm, Godric’s Griffins,’ Kyra started.

‘Against the, er, Hollow Horntails!’ Allyson finished. Scorpius wondered which team was which, but he saw a glint of gold near the opposite goal posts and stopped listening. A well-aimed Bludger forced Scorpius to veer off course, and by the time he looked back the Snitch had disappeared.

Swearing under his breath, he glanced at Mr Potter. Seeing that he was still looking as well, Scorpius sighed slightly in relief and watched Al shoot a spectacular goal past James.

‘And Al makes a wonderful goal on his brother for another ten points to the Horntails!’

‘Kyra, Al’s on the Griffins.’

‘Right, that’s what I meant. What’s the score again, Allyson?’

‘Er, I don’t really remember. Wasn’t it forty to thirty in favor of the Griffins?’

‘I thought it was sixty to fifty to the Horntails…’

Scorpius laughed to himself and continued his search for the Snitch. It was another five minutes before he saw any hint of it, though, and this time Mr Potter saw it too. They both took off from opposite ends of the pitch, racing to the seats. Scorpius saw a Bludger coming towards him, but he managed to roll on his broom and avoid it and continued gaining on Mr Potter. Out of the corner of his eye Scorpius saw Zeren rush to a Bludger and smash it at Mr Potter – who barely had time to swerve out of the way.

Scorpius was only inches from the Snitch when it suddenly dropped down. Scorpius dove after it, racing towards the ground. He heard some of the others yelling for him to pull up, but he knew that he had time. At the last possible moment, he levelled out and skimmed the grass with his knees and toes. The Snitch was flying along the grass, so Scorpius put on a burst of speed and enjoyed the roar of the wind blowing past his ears. He stretched his right arm out.

‘Just a little more,’ he muttered to himself.

His hand closed around the small ball seconds before the much larger ball collided with his outstretched arm. More out of surprise than anything else, Scorpius fell off his broom sideways and rolled on the ground, winded.

He heard others calling out to him, but as he sat up to look at his arm the first person to land next to him was Mrs Black.

‘I’m a Healer,’ she said, taking his arm to examine. She reset it so the bone would heal correctly, then took out her wand.

Before she could perform any spells, however, she made a noise of surprise. Scorpius could feel his arm starting to heal, and obviously she did too. She gave him a curious look, to which he gave a one-shouldered shrug as she performed a spell to heal it quickly. Scorpius could tell that she knew from the look she gave him, but he only had the time to grin sheepishly before everyone else made it over to them.

‘Are you alright?’ Al asked, holding his and Scorpius’s brooms.

‘Yeah, just perfect,’ Scorpius responded. ‘Mrs Black fixed me right up.’ He flexed his arm just to prove it and opened his fist to look at the Snitch.

‘That was some excellent Seeking, Scorpius,’ Mr Potter was the next person to approach him. ‘That roll to avoid the Bludger was great, and your dive looked like you’d practiced.’

Scorpius grinned as everyone crowded around, congratulating and clapping him on the back. They all trooped back to the Potters’ house to eat some lunch together. Scorpius was concentrating on not tripping while also talking with Al when he felt someone tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Mrs Black walking just behind. He nodded and gestured for her to join them.

‘How long?’ she asked.

‘It was just after the New Year,’ Scorpius told her.

‘When he was staying at our house,’ Al put in, quickly gleaning the topic of conversation. ‘He saved Lily.’

Mrs Black smiled. ‘What a Gryffindor. I was a Ravenclaw myself. May I… that is, would you mind showing me the bite?’

Scorpius shook his head and pulled off his shirt. The back of his shoulder was one mass of scar tissue, but he could feel Mrs Black tentatively touching it.

‘Oh my,’ she breathed, following the scar’s trail around to the front. The front wasn’t as bad as the back, but there was still an array of crisscrossed scars covering his whole shoulder.

It was a cool April day so Scorpius was glad when Mrs Black was finished so he could pull his shirt back on. She stepped back to look into his face. ‘Such a heavy burden. If you need anything, you know where I live.’ She squeezed his good shoulder and smiled as they exited the woods and followed the crowd into the house.

\---

It only took two days for it to become a daily routine for Scorpius and Al to have lunch together and then go flying. They alternated between houses, and so they were eating at Scorpius’s house when it started thunder storming. Scorpius didn’t really want to go flying in that and Al agreed, so they went to Scorpius’s room to wait for the sky to clear.

They were in the middle of a heated Exploding Snap match when Scorpius heard a knock on the door. Thinking it was just Grennie bringing up his clothes, Scorpius hauled himself up to open the door.

However, when the door opened Mr Potter stood there holding a sack.

‘Ginny’s in a baking mood,’ he explained. ‘She sent me over with some treacle tart and biscuits for you two.’

Al jumped up at this and accepted the sack, taking the container of biscuits and passing the sack over to Scorpius. Scorpius thanked Mr Potter and returned to the floor.

The unfortunate thing about treacle was that it always made Scorpius thirsty, so they had to pause the match again so that he could get a drink. He had to walk past the den to get to the kitchen from the stairs, and when he was walking back to his room he heard his dad and Mr Potter talking. He paused a moment to listen – they were discussing various teams’ prospects in the Quidditch World Cup.

‘The only time we’ll see America is if we both make it to the final,’ Mr Potter was saying.

‘That Allen kid is pretty good – they’ve got a shot,’ Scorpius’s dad said. ‘Who will you play in the first round?’

‘Mexico.’

‘I didn’t even know they had a team.’

Their chatting sounded comfortable and enjoyable – Scorpius beamed to himself.

The Exploding Snap match continued another fifteen minutes before another knock on the door caused the entire deck to explode in the boys’ faces. They both sat perfectly still in surprise as the door opened slowly. Mr Potter poked his head in, looking curious before laughing at the boys’ expressions.

‘You shouldn’t sit so close to the cards – then you don’t get such a face full of the explosion,’ he advised them before speaking to Al. ‘Your mother would like you to come home – we’re going to Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione’s house. Scorpius, he continued, shifting his gaze. ‘Your parents would like to see you downstairs.’

Scorpius and Al nodded, so Mr Potter closed the door again and the boys cleaned up. They both walked to the front door where their dads were waiting.

‘Tell Rose and Hugo “hi” from me,’ Scorpius commissioned Al.

‘For your pants,’ Al promised. Scorpius laughed along with Al as their dads shook their heads and laughed at them in turn.

‘So, what did you want?’ Scorpius asked his dad once Al and Mr Potter were out the door.

‘Come to the den, your mother has a question for you,’ he replied, leading Scorpius into the den. Scorpius followed, curious.

His mum looked up and smiled when he entered. ‘How quickly can you get packed?’

‘Erm, fairly?’ Scorpius said, confused.

Her smile only grew. ‘We need to arrange a Portkey to get to the States, but we don’t know if tomorrow morning or afternoon would be better.’

Scorpius grinned and said that he could get packed by dinner before running off to get started. He didn’t know what to pack, so he packed based on the pictures they had received last Easter. This meant that his rucksack had some of every type of clothing – they seemed to be wearing something different in each and every picture.


	20. Twenty

When they arrived in California, Scorpius wished that he had worn lighter clothing – it was hot. However, he quickly forgot about the weather as he was tackle-hugged by his cousins David and Alexander.

‘Hi guys,’ Scorpius managed to get out through winded pipes.

‘We’ve missed you!’ they chorused. Scorpius laughed and stood up to hug them properly. They gawked a moment at how tall he had gotten, but got over that quickly as they pulled him into the house to show him some new treasures. Scorpius quickly greeted his uncle Mark, Aunt Daphne, and cousin Anna before the twin boys claimed his attention.

‘What’s Hogwarts like?’ ‘Will I like it there?’ ‘Is there…’

They were cut off, however, by their dad. ‘Wait till dinner, boys. The rest of us want to hear too.’

With that reproof in mind, the boys refrained from asking questions but did show Scorpius the new rocks and plants they had found during their adventures since they had last seen him. Scorpius enjoyed seeing their enthusiasm for the things and knew that they were going to enjoy their Herbology classes in school.

They were interrupted from this show and tell by Aunt Daphne calling everyone to dinner. When they walked into the dining room, Scorpius’s sensory receptors went wild. He could smell the beef, potatoes, vegetables, casserole, and cake all at once. It was just short of being headache-inducing, but it still made his mouth water. While they ate, Scorpius’s parents talked with his aunt and uncle while Scorpius listened in.  Uncle Mark worked for the American Magical Ministry and Scorpius enjoyed hearing about what it was like in other magical countries.

The cake was portioned out, and then it was Scorpius’s turn.

‘You’re looking taller than we last saw you,’ Aunt Daphne observed before Alex or David could begin their question barrage.

Scorpius grinned. ‘Yeah, I had a bit of a growth spurt recently. My arms and legs are so long I don’t know what to do with them.’

Uncle Mark laughed. ‘Ah, I remember feeling like that myself. One time I got so badly bruised by falling and walking into things that everyone thought I’d been fighting and a few of my teachers sat me down to have a talk in their classes.’

They laughed, and then the boys began.

‘What’s Scotland like?’ ‘Are the teachers mean?’ ‘How do you get there?’ ‘When–’

‘One at a time, boys,’ Uncle Mark cautioned before Scorpius could figure out how to answer the myriad of questions being thrown at him.

The twins conferred and chose their first question. ‘Is the Great Hall ceiling really enchanted?’

Scorpius smiled. ‘Yeah. The day before I left it was stormy in the morning and that afternoon there wasn’t a cloud to be seen.’

Two sets of eyes widened. ‘Is Quidditch a big deal there?’

‘Oh yeah,’ Scorpius assured them. ‘Everyone goes to the matches, no matter the weather.’

The questions continued on in that vein – a new one being asked as soon as Scorpius could answer the previous – for another half hour. Occasionally one of the adults would get a word in edgewise, but for the most part it was David and Alex performing the interrogation.

When there was a significant gap between the questions, it was suggested that everyone go outside to take a walk along the beach. The plan was agreed to, and when everyone shifted outside Scorpius wound up next to his aunt.

‘So your first year is going well?’ she asked.

Scorpius nodded. ‘Yeah, it’s been pretty fun overall.’

‘So what’s the Gryffindor common room like? I’ve only ever seen Slytherin’s.’

‘Well it’s in one of the towers and there’s red everywhere. When the fire’s going it can get very warm. However, there’s an armchair that’s right next to a window and that one’s my favourite. It’s far enough from the fire that I don’t burn alive and I can look out the window when I’m bored of looking at the people.’

She snorted. ‘I can understand that. The Slytherin common room is in the dungeons so we didn’t get to see outside. Watching the same idiotic girls fawn over Blaise Zabini got boring after two years.’

Scorpius’s dad heard that and joined the conversation. ‘Merlin, I’d forgotten about those girls. Any onlooker could tell that he didn’t give half a knut about any of them – Blaise would complain about it a lot when we were all in our room.’

‘You didn’t seem to mind quite so much,’ Aunt Daphne said. ‘Pansy Parkinson was all over you. She always talked about you in our room and how she’d already planned your wedding and life together. You were going to have two kids – Xavier and Amanda.’

Scorpius’s mum gave his dad an arch look and he coughed uncomfortably. Scorpius laughed.

‘Er, well, yes, Pansy did seem to really like me,’ he said. ‘But she seems to be doing well.’

‘You’re still in contact with her?’ Aunt Daphne asked, surprised. ‘When I last saw you two together you dumped her like the trash she is.’ Scorpius sniggered.

‘She sends us Christmas cards with a picture every year,’ Scorpius’s mum said nastily, though Scorpius could tell that she enjoyed the ‘trash’ comment. ‘She’s with a different guy every time. And she makes these comments about how she misses Draco _so_ much. It’s pathetic, really. But I make sure to send a picture of myself and Scorpius to her in return every year, so I suppose I’m only marginally better than her.’

Scorpius’s dad laughed at that and looked at her with an eyebrow raised, which she returned. Scorpius wasn’t sure what that meant, but he was glad that Pansy Parkinson wasn’t his mum. He’d only met her once, but she had annoyed him even then – she was more concerned with fancy things and less concerned about sending time with people. The conversations drifted off as they all listened to the waves. Scorpius and his parents were the first to go to sleep wince they were the ones that had travelled.

Even so, Scorpius woke up the next day as he always did – acclimated to the new time zone. He had always suspected that Aunt Daphne put a potion in his and his parents’ drinks during their first meal to help them adjust. And last night he confirmed that suspicion when he could smell the faint traces of motherwort in his pumpkin juice.

It was a good thing too, since Alex and David had plans for him that morning. As soon as he walked down to breakfast, the twins accosted him and began detailing their elaborate schemes. Those plans involved not only being shown all around the house but also around the property, neighbourhood, and to their favourite park.

By lunch, their plans were satisfied and Scorpius could relax and enjoy his time with his family.

As the week wound down, the twins’ debate grew more and more dire. They had been given the option of attending either the Magical Academy: Pacific or at Hogwarts. They had decided to do one at each so that they could write and learn about both schools – it only remained to be decided who went where. It was eventually decided that Alex would be attending Hogwarts, and he would be returning with the Malfoys so that he could get used to being in the United Kingdom before starting school. The good-byes were heartfelt, but Scorpius could feel Alex vibrating with excitement all the same.

Their feet hit the ground of the pseudo Quidditch pitch and Alex was off running.

‘Wow, do you play Quidditch here? Do you live nearby?’

‘Calm down, Alex,’ Scorpius’s mum laughed. ‘You’ll see soon enough.’

He was still full of energy when they walked out of the woods and could see the houses lining the street. Scorpius thought that Alex’s head would pop off from how many different directions he was trying to look at once. When they passed the Potters’ house, Al came running out.

‘Hey Scorpius, good afternoon Mr and Mrs Malfoy,’ he greeted them all.

‘Al, this is my cousin Alex. He’s going to Hogwarts next year,’ Scorpius introduced them.

Alex smiled as he shook Al’s hand. ‘So you go to Hogwarts too? What House are you in? Do you like Quidditch too? What’s your favourite class?’

Al looked taken aback by the barrage of questions, but thankfully Scorpius’s dad took advantage of the fact that Alex eventually needed air.

‘Calm down, Alex,’ he said, taking the younger boy’s hand. ‘Don’t you want to experience it all for yourself next year?’

Alex subsided to debate the pros and cons of that argument, so Al could finally speak to Scorpius.

‘We’re having another neighbourhood Quidditch match tomorrow before we all go back to school – are you going to be there?’

‘Of course!’ Scorpius was glad to have another opportunity to ride his Thunderbolt.

‘Wicked,’ Al replied, grinning. ‘I have to go back inside – Mum’s making me pack already. See you tomorrow!’

Scorpius waved as Al went running back inside his house. When the Malfoys got back to their own house, Scorpius showed Alex around and to his new room. Alex unpacked a few things – namely his Quaffle signed by the United States National Team, a picture of his family, and one of him and his brother – before tumbling into the bed and falling right asleep. Scorpius laughed quietly and closed the door as he left.

\---

The following afternoon, Scorpius went to the Quidditch Pitch before the rest of his family so that he could fly a bit before everyone else showed up. He was only alone for a few minutes, though, before Juliet showed up as well.

‘Do you mind?’ she asked. ‘I want to try out for Seeker next year and need to practice a bit.’

Scorpius agreed and they spent a quarter of an hour tossing Muggle golf balls for the other to catch before everyone else started arriving.

The teams were different than the last match and this time Scorpius was Seeking against Juliet. They were an evenly matched pair, constantly seeing the Snitch at the same time and racing to it only to have a Bludger scare it away. The match ended in the same fashion – both he and Juliet saw the Snitch and dove after it. They were neck and neck (she started out ahead but Scorpius had the faster broom) when an extremely well-hit Bludger from Zeren forced him to veer slightly and Juliet was able to grab the Snitch.

‘That was a great game!’ Alex congratulated Scorpius after they had all said their good byes and dispersed to their respective homes. ‘Are you going to try out for the team next year?’

Scorpius nodded with a grin. ‘You bet – and Juliet said that she is trying out too so it will be a tough competition.’

That evening after dinner, Scorpius’s mum turned to Alex before they left the table. Scorpius knew what was coming, and he couldn’t help but be slightly nervous.

‘Now, Alex. Did you know any werewolves back home?’

Alex shook his head. ‘Nah, but I always wanted to meet one.’

‘Well you do now,’ Scorpius’s dad told him. When Alex looked confused, Scorpius’s dad pointed to Scorpius, who waved.

‘You’re a werewolf?’ Alex asked, and Scorpius nodded hesitantly. He needn’t have worried. ‘That’s so cool! When’s he next full moon, can I see you as a wolf?’

Scorpius laughed. ‘Nah, the next full moon isn’t till later this month. But over the summer you’ll get to see me as a wolf, yeah.’

Alex cheered, and Scorpius found himself immensely grateful for his cousin. While Scorpius wasn’t particularly sad about everything, Alex still managed to make him feel better about it.


	21. Twenty One

The next morning, Alex’s chatty nature was silenced when they walked onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He couldn’t look around fast enough to see all the students with their things. Scorpius’s dad helped him lift his trunk up before Scorpius said his goodbyes. He secured an empty compartment for his friends, who joined him quickly.

‘Hey, Scorpius!’ Liza bounced into the compartment right in front of Edward, Aiden, and Jake.

‘There’s someone waving at you, Fang,’ Edward observed, pointing out the window at Alex, who was indeed waving so hard Scorpius thought his hand night fall off.

Scorpius waved back. ‘That’s my cousin. He’s starting Hogwarts next year.’

‘You better hope he’s not in Gryffindor,’ Al commented as he entered with Rose. ‘You’d never get any sleep or quiet time.’

Scorpius snorted but didn’t answer as they all waved out the window when the train started moving.

\---

As April wore on, the threat of exams loomed over the castle and teachers were assigning more and more homework to the first years. The Hufflepuff v. Ravenclaw Quidditch match had been the first week back and it had been an exciting one. Hufflepuff (who had obviously been practicing over the holiday) pulled off a surprise and beat Ravenclaw (who just as obviously had not been practicing over the holiday) with a score of 260-10. But, unfortunately for Scorpius, the early match meant that he had nothing but homework and a full moon to look forward to for the rest of the month.

One week before the full moon Scorpius had Potions first thing in the morning so he walked down to the dungeons early to take his Wolfsbane.

‘I’ve continued with my experimentation,’ Professor Heineka informed Scorpius when he entered her office. ‘Let me know how it is.’

Scorpius nodded and took the goblet from her, taking a cautious sip. It tasted… good!

‘Wow,’ he said, draining the rest quickly. ‘That was really good!’

‘I’m glad,’ Professor Heineka smiled. ‘We are going to use this version all week and if all goes well then I would like to submit my results to a Potions publication if that is alright with you.’

Scorpius immediately nodded. ‘If that means others won’t have to drink the nasty version then I’m all for it.’

Professor Heineka smiled again. ‘I’m proud of you, Scorpius. Let me know if there’s anything different about this week compared to months previous.’

Scorpius agreed and moved into the classroom to join his friends for class. Ad they worked, Scorpius told his friends about Wolfsbane 2.0 and how much better it tasted.

The following Sunday was time for his monthly checkup and now Scorpius was five feet six inches tall and one hundred and five pounds – a significant jump from the previous month. His senses had sharpened as well. He was not the average build of a skinny fourth year with the senses of a werewolf of three years. Disconcerting as that was, he could tell that he wasn’t done growing so he made a mental note to write his mum that he was definitely going to need new clothes soon.

Scorpius was excused from Astronomy due to it being a full moon and Al, Rose, and Liza weren’t going to join him until after that class, so he walked to the Shrieking Shack alone. He sat in the room waiting for the moon to rise or for his friends to arrive, whichever happened first. To while away the time, he was sprawled on the bed and imagining pictures in the wood grain of the ceiling.

Suddenly, the air chilled and Scorpius felt his body tense. He was prepared for it.

Or so he thought.

His entire body radiated white-hot heat and he started writhing on the bed. His bones felt like they were each breaking and contorting in every conceivable way as his back arched off the bed. His teeth sliced his tongue and he couldn’t bite back his scream of pain this time, it pierced through the night as a bloodcurdling howl.

He was a wolf, so why was he in this silly little room? On all fours, he dashed to the door and tried to open it with his teeth. He paused for a moment when he smelled humans on the other side of the door. Something somewhere deep in his brain recognised the scents – the one that smelled of food, the one that smelled of orange mint and the one that smelled of roses. However, he couldn’t remember where he had smelled them before and he didn’t care – he was the hunter and they were the prey. He redoubled his efforts to get through the door, growling when it wouldn’t give way. Taking a slight break to try again, he moved and saw the mirror. The other wolf looked out at him, snarling and pacing.

The wolf tried again and again to open the door, even when he couldn’t smell the humans anymore. However, when nothing worked he turned against himself – biting and tearing at his own flesh until he finally grew too tired to even stay awake.

\---

When Scorpius woke up the next day, he felt worse than he had in a very long time. Instead of the herd of centaurs that usually ran over him, it felt like someone had dropped a house on him and then ran him over with a herd of centaurs. He was imagining that humourous image when suddenly he realised that he didn’t remember as much from the previous night as he usually did. Curious, he started at the beginning and went through what he did remember.

Madam Boot had walked him out to the Shrieking Shack as usual, and his friends were going to join him soon. He was staring at the ceiling when… when…

Scorpius’s eyes snapped open and he bolted upright in bed, an action he immediately regretted. His head pounding, Scorpius fell back in his bed and closed his eyes. Unfortunately, this meant that all he could do was think about the previous night.

The Wolfsbane hadn’t worked. If anything, it had made everything worse. Scorpius’s memories after the transformation were wolf memories, so they weren’t as clear as his human memories – there was a lot more sensory detail and animal instincts involved. He remembered trying to get out, and smelling humans. He couldn’t remember the exact scents at the moment, but he did remember that they were familiar. Perhaps the clearest memory was of his reflection in the mirror. The wolf didn’t know what it was looking at, but now Scorpius could see it perfectly in his mind’s eye. The wolf that looked back out of that mirror wasn’t at all recognisable – it was feral and snarling, and the eyes held no trace of humanity in them at all.

He had been getting used to seeing his wolf form, so the image of his unrecognisable face haunted Scorpius. In an attempt to get his mind off of that image, Scorpius thought about the scents. He remembered that there had been distinctly familiar scents – there was one that smelled like… some sort of food, and another was a flowery scent, and the other was more like toothpaste.

Unfortunately, this line of thought caused Scorpius to sit upright in bed again. Trying to ignore the pain that this caused throughout his whole body, Scorpius scanned the beds in the Hospital Wing. He breathed a little easier when he saw that Al, Rose, and Liza weren’t in the room, but that didn’t ease his troubled thoughts entirely – after all, after he was bitten he was taken to St. Mungo’s.

Madam Boot finally saw that he was awake and came to see him. Her face was troubled, and Scorpius’s anguish increased. Which of his friends had he hurt?

Madam Boot seemed to sense that he was troubled over something, so she quickly spoke. ‘Don’t worry, Scorpius. No one else has been hurt in any way.’

Scorpius sighed in relief and fell back on his bed once more. ‘Wait,’ he said after a moment of thought. ‘What do you mean “no one else”?’

Madam Boot was applying some sort of salve to his arm, so he looked at his own body for the first time and gasped. His entire torso was practically one large bruise, each arm and leg sported deep gashes, and his left leg was numb and tingling.

‘When a werewolf has no prey to attack, it takes out its anger on itself,’ Madam Boot said gently, still taking care of his various cuts. ‘You broke your left leg in three places, but I mended that in a jiffy and that was the easiest to cure. You scratched and bit yourself mercilessly – and they were all rather deep cuts. You will most likely have scar on your back,’ she said. ‘That was the deepest cut.’

Scorpius raised his left hand, the arm that Madam Boot wasn’t working on, and gingerly felt his back. Indeed, there was a scar that had already formed that started at his left shoulder and moved down his back and ended at his hip. Surprised, he sat up and twisted around, ignoring the way his body rebelled, and looked. Sure enough, there was a bright red line that spanned his back. Shuddering at the thought that he had done all this to himself, Scorpius returned his attention to Madam Boot. ‘Is that it?’

Madam Boot shook her head as she finished her treatment. ‘That is all that you did to yourself, but the transformation has taken its toll on your body was well. Last month you said that you were feeling better by that afternoon?’ Scorpius nodded, dreading her answer. ‘Well, I would be very surprised if you were recovered by tomorrow afternoon. You will be spending the night here.’ Her tone left no room for argument and she walked back to her office as if to further the point.

Scorpius nodded mutely and looked at the time. It was already past five o’clock – he had missed an entire day. Scorpius sighed and leaned back in the bed, staring at the ceiling. At least he hadn’t hurt anyone else.

As if on cue, the doors opened and Scorpius smelled Al, Rose, and Liza enter the Hospital Wing. He tried to get the blanket over himself before they saw, but their gasps told him that he hadn’t succeeded.

‘Oh my,’ Rose breathed.

‘Ruddy hell,’ Al swore.

‘Oh, Scorpius,’ Liza rushed over and knelt by his side.

‘Please tell me that I didn’t hurt any of you,’ Scorpius implored, turning to face them all.

‘Do you not remember what happened last night?’ Al asked, joining Liza at Scorpius’s side.

Scorpius wasn’t about to share all that he remembered, so he gave them the shortened version. ‘I remember smelling you three in the Shack.’

Al nodded. ‘We were there, but you were howling and growling like mad. We could tell something was wrong, so we left.’

‘We came to see you first thing this morning,’ Rose picked up the story. ‘But Madam Boot wouldn’t let us in. We tried again during our free period and during lunch and during break, but she kept sending us away – you hadn’t woken up. It wasn’t until just now that she let us in.’

Scorpius nodded and shifted in his bed so that he could sit up. He saw his friends wince when the blanket slipped and revealed some of his bruised torso again, so he tried to quickly cover it up again.

‘How are you feeling?’ Liza asked, reaching out and placing a hand on one of his.

‘Like someone dropped a house on me,’ Scorpius told them his earlier conclusion. Al and Rose smiled grimly at his joke, but Liza suddenly caught a fit of the giggles.

‘Well, you’re definitely not in Kansas anymore then,’ she said. The other three looked at her.

‘Where’s Kansas?’ Al asked.

‘It’s in the States,’ Rose responded. ‘When was Scorpius in Kansas?’

‘Honestly,’ Liza said, looking between them all. ‘You all need to come over to my house this summer to watch some movies.’ They chatted for a bit longer before leaving to get dinner, promising that they would be back the next day when he was released.

Just before visiting hours were over, Professor Heineka entered the Hospital Wing.

‘Professor, the Wolfsbane didn’t work,’ Scorpius told her immediately, sitting up.

‘I know, Scorpius,’ she responded. ‘I have gotten rid of that batch and started a new one. I would like to apologise for what you had to go through last night. If I hadn’t been so ambitious, I could have discovered the problem and it would have been avoided.’

Scorpius was surprised. ‘It’s not your fault, and now we know what not to do.’

Professor Heineka gave him a small smile. ‘Thank you, Scorpius. I will continue trying to make it better, but at a slower pace this time.’

Scorpius agreed and she left. Madam Boot closed the doors after her before delivering more potions and dinner to Scorpius’s bedside table.

‘Here you are,’ she said, placing the food down and handing him the potions first. ‘Drink those before you eat. If all goes well tonight, you may leave in the morning.’

Scorpius thanked her and drank the potions quickly so that he could eat – he was ravenous. After that, he grabbed the book Al had brought him from their room and read until he fell back asleep.

\---

True to their word, Al, Rose, and Liza were there when Scorpius woke up. Madam Boot released him and the four walked to breakfast slowly since Scorpius was still sore. When they got to the Great Hall, the atmosphere was rather more subdued than usual and the Professors at the Head Table looked grave.

‘Just what we need,’ Scorpius groaned as he sat down. ‘Another Death Eater attack.’

‘You can’t know that’s what it is,’ Rose tried to say hopefully. ‘It could be–’

But what it could be they never found out because at that time her _Daily Prophet_ was delivered.

**_DEATH EATERS ATTACK, DESTROY ENTIRE TOWN  
_ ** _2 May, 2018 – London_

_Today, the day we celebrate the fall of You-Know-Who and remember those who gave their lives to aid to His demise in the Battle of Hogwarts, marks the deadliest Death Eater attack since 1998._

_A small town outside of Chatton in Northern England was razed last night. Of the population of 496 there have been three survivors, who wish to remain anonymous._

_The first was able to evade notice by hiding in a cellar._

_‘I never thought I’d actually use that cellar to hide myself,’ they say. ‘It was just a place to keep extra food that wouldn’t fit in the kitchen.’_

_Despite the horror, some light has shown through. All three survivors have given accounts of heroic bravery exhibited by their neighbours._

_‘This area is predominantly Muggle,’ the second survivor shares. ‘And I saw my next-door neighbour fighting off some of Them before they could get to those who had no idea what was happening, including a young Muggle child who survived.’_

_Minister of Magic Percy Weasley urges the public to take extreme caution. ‘These Death Eaters have shown that they have nothing to lose and will stop at nothing to get their way. We are working hard and these people will face justice for what they have done.’_

_For more on last night’s attack, see page two. For advice on how to protect yourself and your family, see page three._

Scorpius groaned again when he finished reading, feeling sick to his stomach. All this destruction – weren’t they supposed to be past all that?

He hadn’t noticed the increased whispers and stares in the Great Hall, but as Scorpius walked to History of Magic there was a large percentage of people pointing at him and whispering behind his back. He wasn’t sure what that was all about, but it was hard to pretend he didn’t notice like he was trying to do. Had the whole school somehow discovered that he was a werewolf?

He didn’t have time to muse over that, though, because he was in for a surprise in class. Scorpius was getting ready to doze off, like he usually did, when the door opened and a wizard walked in, moving to the Professor’s desk.

‘Good morning,’ he greeted them all with a smile. ‘If you could all turn to page 394 of your textbooks, we’re going to continue where we left off yesterday. Please finish the chapter and then we will discuss what you read.’

Scorpius didn’t move out of surprise until Liza placed a piece of parchment in front of him.

_Professor Andrews. He’s our new History of Magic professor, he’s awesome – loads better than Binns. Al says he’s Juliet’s uncle. We’re reading about goblin rebellions right now._

Scorpius nodded to show that he had read it and opened his book. He skimmed the info, still completely worn down from his transformation, and waited until the discussion to go more in depth.

Once the whole class was finished, Professor Andrews (who was leaning back in his chair with his feet propped on the desk) looked around at them. ‘So, what do you think?’

The students still weren’t used to this interactive style of History of Magic class, so there was silence for a moment before Jake spoke up. ‘I think it’s interesting how all of these goblin rebellions occurred at almost the same time even though they were so far apart.’

‘Good observation, Jake,’ Professor Andrews complimented him. ‘What does that mean to you, Scorpius?’

Scorpius thought for a moment – he didn’t want to make a bad first impression on the new teacher. ‘Well, it said that they were working in similar fields, so maybe they were all being treated similarly in those areas?’

‘They were,’ Professor Andrews confirmed, giving Scorpius a nod. ‘Allyson, what can we gather from that?’

‘From how they were all being treated the same?’ Professor Andrews nodded, so Allyson continued. ‘Erm, that means a lot of wizards thought of goblins the same way.’

Professor Andrews nodded and pointed to Liza when she raised her hand. ‘It means that the mistreatment of beings that wizards saw as inferior was very common – even across so many different cultures.’

‘Excellent, Liza,’ Professor Andrews complimented her as the bell rang. ‘We’ll pick back up after your break. Scorpius, may I see you for a moment?’

Scorpius nodded and moved towards the desk as the rest of the class filed out.

‘Are you feeling better after yesterday?’ Professor Andrews asked. Scorpius nodded. ‘I have been informed of what happened and wish to let you know that if you ever need to miss this class you need only come to my office and I will be quite happy to help you catch up.’

‘Thank you, sir,’ Scorpius responded, very grateful at how supportive he was – especially since he had Charms later that afternoon and was dreading seeing Professor Turpin again.

‘Good. Now, enjoy your break, I’ll see you again in about forty-five minutes,’ Professor Andres smiled, dismissing Scorpius to his free period.

When he exited the room, Rose explained. ‘He’s Mrs Black’s brother, and he finished school here before our parents arrived. His daughters are in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw – they’re fourth years. His first day with us was yesterday, but obviously you weren’t there.’

‘Where’d Binns go?’ Scorpius asked. They didn’t want to go all the way back to the common room, so they found an empty classroom and sat there before they had to go back.

‘Professor McGonagall called the Ghostbusters,’ Liza laughed.

‘She said that yesterday as well,’ Al responded to Scorpius’s confused look. ‘Evidently it’s from another movie that she’s going to make us watch at her house over the summer.’

‘Apparently they finally convinced Professor Binns to enjoy his ghostly afterlife somewhere else and not teaching,’ Rose continued. ‘So now it seems History of Magic will be more interesting.’

Back in class they talked about wizards’ historically constant attitude of treating other species as inferior and were assigned to write an essay on how people were trying to change that today.

‘That will be easy for you, Rose,’ Aiden commented as they left to eat lunch. ‘Just owl your mum and ask what she’s done lately and she’ll write your essay for you.’

Scorpius was at the center of their group as they walked to lunch – he felt like he was a celebrity being escorted and was about to make a comment when he noticed the amount of whispers and bad looks that were being sent his way. Suddenly it felt more like his friends were shielding him.

He didn’t discover what they were protecting him from until after lunch and break. After a particularly nasty lesson with Professor Turpin, Scorpius ducked into a loo during his free period – still feeling the effects from the full moon. As he was sitting near a toilet in case his heaving stomach decided to bring his lunch back up, he heard two boys enter. They were discussing the attacks.

‘Yeah, that last attack was the closest yet – they’re almost here.’

‘But why would they be coming here?’

‘My dad says that there was one year where you could only come to Hogwarts if you were a pureblood. Maybe they think there are too many Muggle-borns around. I don’t know how they think – go ask Scorpius Malfoy if you’re so curious. His dad’s a Death Eater, so he is probably getting ready to join up once he’s old enough.’

At that, Scorpius’s stomach did decide to bring his lunch back up – it didn’t taste nearly as good the second time around.

The boys heard the retching and paused their conversation. ‘You alright in there, mate?’ one asked, knocking on the door.

‘Yeah, sorry. Stomach flu,’ Scorpius made up, grateful that his voice was gravelly and therefore unrecognizable.

‘Ah,’ the other boy said. ‘Well, feel better soon.’

Scorpius gave a grunt of thanks before they resumed where they left off.

‘But if you think Malfoy’s just waiting to join up, why does he always hang around the Potters and Weasleys and that Muggle-born girl?’

‘Getting to know the enemy, duh! That way he’ll have all sorts of information to pass along. I don’t know how he tricked the Sorting Hat into putting him into Gryffindor, he obviously belongs in Slytherin. I mean, he even looks just like his dad!’

‘How would you know that?’

‘My dad was a prefect one year when Draco Malfoy was too and they took a picture of all the prefects – I saw that.’

Mercifully, the two boys left after that and Scorpius’s stomach calmed down. So that’s why everyone had been staring and pointing – they all thought that he was just gathering info for his dad, who they assumed had joined up with his old pals and was going on a killing spree. Was it so impossible that people could change?

The bell rang as he was leaving the loo so he was a few minutes late to Transfiguration, but Professor Poole took pity on him.

While everyone was practicing turning beetles into buttons, she walked over to his desk. ‘Scorpius, I appreciate your dedication to your school work but you do not look well. Go get some rest in your dorm, I’m sure one of your friends can help you later.’

Scorpius thanked her and left, doing his best to avoid people’s glares as he walked to Gryffindor Tower. He was sure his dad still went through similar ordeals, and if he could handle it then so could Scorpius.


	22. Twenty Two

Despite his bravado, however, the next few weeks were rough on Scorpius. With the attacks becoming more and more frequent, everywhere Scorpius went people shied away from him. His friends were always with him and that deterred many of those looking to pick a fight, but it didn’t stop the people bold enough to walk up to him and say things.

‘I bet you can’t wait to join up.’ ‘Aren’t you proud of your dad?’ ‘Your dad killed my mum!’

‘My dad hasn’t killed anyone,’ Scorpius replied to that last one.

‘Yeah, sure. How many times did you have to tell that to yourself before you believed it, Slytherin?’

‘Are you colour blind?’ Al defended Scorpius angrily. ‘Notice the Gryffindor robes? Nitwit.’

The other kid didn’t look convinced, but Scorpius just walked away before either of them could continue.

Incidents like this coupled with hostile treatment from Professor Turpin meant Scorpius was spending more and more time in his room – his dorm-mates at least didn’t seem to think that he was just itching to join in the killing. Oddly enough, as the rest of the school turned hostile Rachael’s little gang of Slytherins eased off. Scorpius noticed that they weren’t constantly glaring and they hadn’t tried cornering him recently.

The week before the full moon Scorpius was back to the nasty Wolfsbane, but he remembered the previous month and took it without complaint. He also managed to duck into the supply closet to get ingredients when he saw Jason nod at him in Potions.

‘She’s planning something,’ he said without preamble. ‘Something big. Apparently it’ll be ready in a week and she’ll need–’

Before Jason could say what she would need, they were cut off by another Slytherin entering to get her own supplies. Scorpius nodded his thanks to Jason and returned to his table, mind racing.

\---

The day of the full moon dawned like any other day, except Scorpius was already exhausted. His whole body was sore and the scar that spanned his back was throbbing. He made his slow-but-steady way to each of his classes, though, and today’s lessons were particularly interesting. (Or, at least he convinced himself of that in order to not fall asleep in each of them.)

He made it through, though, and was finally walking to dinner when Al realised that he left his book in the classroom and turned back to get it, telling them that he’d catch up with them in the Great Hall. Scorpius was tired enough that he didn’t think anything of the fact that Al hadn’t returned through all of dinner until Jason pulled him, Liza, and Rose aside as they left the Hall.

‘Rachael’s taken your friend, Al,’ he told them bluntly. Suddenly much more awake, Scorpius focused on what Jason was telling them. ‘She took his book so that he’d have to go back to the Potions room and grabbed him there. Her plan – it’s happening tonight.’

Scorpius thought quickly. There wasn’t time to get a teacher or anyone to help – he was going to have to go after them himself.

‘Alright,’ he said. ‘You guys go get Professor Longbottom or someone and tell them what’s happening. I’m going to go after them.’

‘But, Scorpius.’ Liza grabbed his arm as he turned towards the dungeons. ‘It’s a full moon tonight.’

‘I know,’ Scorpius told her. ‘But there’s no time – I have to start after them now.’

‘Then I’m coming with you,’ Liza said stubbornly. Rose nodded and Jason, looking confused, did as well.

‘It’s probably going to be dangerous,’ Scorpius told them. When none of them replied, he shrugged. ‘Do what you like then. I’m going to help Al.’

They set off running towards the dungeons, Scorpius testing the air to see if he could smell Al.

‘I’m confused,’ Jason said once they slowed near the Potions room. ‘What does the moon have to do with anything?’

‘Oh, I’m a werewolf,’ Scorpius told him. ‘I got bit over the Christmas holiday. Don’t worry – I took my Wolfsbane today so I won’t be dangerous or anything.’

Before a wide-eyed Jason could respond, Scorpius smelled Al and took off running again. He followed Al’s scent further into the dungeons than he had even known they went. He gestured for the others to keep back – he could tell that the moon would be rising soon and didn’t want them to be too close in case he lashed out during the transformation.

He turned a corner and stopped abruptly at the scent that assaulted his nostrils. He smelled fluxweed, Abyssinian Shrivelfig leaves, and knotgrass – an odd combination, but it meant that the Slytherins were brewing a potion. He took a few cautious steps forward and then broke into a run when he smelled blood.

When he turned another corner, Scorpius could hear voices and there was smoke coming from under one of the doors. Walking slowly so he wouldn’t make any noise, Scorpius went to the door and pressed one ear against it to listen.

‘…right, Rachael,’ one voice said uncertainly. ‘That’s a lot of smoke, you sure that’s what’s supposed to happen?’

‘Of course,’ Rachael snapped. ‘It’s working just fine.’ She sounded like her over-confident and authoritative self, but Scorpius thought he heard a strange undercurrent in her voice. Could she be second-guessing herself?

Scorpius felt more than saw the moon rise and its control over him begin. He clenched his jaw tight so that he wouldn’t cry out, but he couldn’t help the thrashing that went along with transformation. Liza gasped and Rose and Jason watched with wide eyes – no one had ever actually seen him in the process of transforming.

Someone within the room heard his movement. ‘What was that?’ a voice asked, moving to check the door. When it opened, Scorpius threw caution to the wind and lunged at the person opening the door, knocking him down. The rest of the room jumped up, but Liza, Rose, and Jason were right behind Scorpius, wands drawn.

‘What do we have here?’ Liza asked, putting on an innocent act. ‘Looks like a cozy little part, mind if we join?’

Al was unconscious on a table – Rose rushed over to check on him. ‘He’s alright,’ she reassured. ‘Only asleep.’

Scorpius felt as though an abnormally large weight had been lifted from his shoulders and turned his attention back to Rachael.

‘Whose dog is this?’ she asked, looking confused.

‘None of your business,’ Jason responded, drawing Rachael’s attention to him for the first time.

‘What are you doing?’ she spat at him. ‘You’re abandoning your House like Malfoy – he didn’t even have the decency to show up here!’

‘I’ve never been on your side,’ Jason told her, sparing the briefest of glances at Scorpius. ‘Your plan is stupid; it’s never going to work.’

‘What _are_ you trying to do here?’ Liza asked.

‘Bringing back the best thing that has ever happened to this country,’ Rachael responded with a dramatic flair.

‘What, the Wicked Sisters?’ Al asked, recent revived by Rose. He looked pale, but most certainly alive.

Rachael shot him a glare. ‘No! The Dark Lord!’

‘You want to bring back Voldemort?’ Liza asked incredulously. ‘Why would you want to do that?’

‘To that scum like you would be kept in your place,’ was the sharp response, full of venom. Scorpius growled low in his throat. ‘The dog seems to like you,’ Racheal said to Liza. ‘Maybe it’ll–’

Whatever she was about to say got cut off by a sudden loud gurgle from the cauldron – evidently the potion wasn’t happy.

‘I don’t think that’s right,’ one of the thugs said, looking nervously at the cauldron.

‘I told you, it’s fine,’ Rachael insisted. ‘I added the fluxweed and Hellebore together – now it just needs the blood.’

Liza gave Rachael a look of disgust, Rose wrinkled her nose, and Al looked curiously down at his arm to see where they’d taken his blood. Only Jason seemed to be unaffected by the statement – he already knew.

Scorpius, however, wasn’t concerned about the blood. Fluxweed and Hellebore was an explosive combination – the potion was liable to blow at any moment. As if to exemplify that fact, it began to bubble and overflow in earnest, filling the room with green smoke. Scorpius bounded over to nose his friends to get out of the room. Most of the Slytherins had bolted once the potion started acting up, but when the Gryffindors and Jason got to the door they found their way blocked.

‘You ruined it!’ Rachael accused them, wand raised and a wild look in her eyes. ‘At least I can let the potion kill you – I’ll be able to start over next year without you all getting in my way.’

Al, Rose, and Liza looked worn down – they couldn’t see any way out of it. Jason set his jaw and reached for his wand, ready to go down fighting. However, Scorpius’s sharper senses heard something that sounded an awful lot like adults getting closer to them. Without thinking, Scorpius did the first thing that came to mind – he let out the loudest bloodcurdling howl he could manage and launched himself at Rachael. He felt his paws hit her shoulders, then there was a flash of red and he felt no more.

\---

Scorpius came groggily out of a fog of sleep, head and limbs aching and stomach hurting as though someone had punched him. As he slowly became more aware, he heard the sounds of someone moving closer to him and was suddenly jolted out of the fog by that someone grabbing his arm.

‘You little blood traitor,’ Rachael hissed, putting pressure against his arm. ‘You sent your little posse to stop us last night, but where were you?’

‘I was there,’ Scorpius said, clenching his teeth. The snap came first, Scorpius distinctly heard it, and it wasn’t until a heartbeat later that his elbow sent pain signals shooting to his brain. Scorpius grunted in pain, doubling over and cradling his right arm against his stomach.

‘You shouldn’t lie,’ Rachael said, sneering down at him.

His elbow was already starting to heal, so Scorpius set it as best he could and started bending it to loosen it up. It bent fairly easily, he obviously got at least close to setting it correctly.

‘I wasn’t lying,’ he told Rachael, giving her the wolfiest grin he could muster. He saw the realisation dawn on her face and she quickly retreated, tripping over a chair.

Now that she was gone, Scorpius was able to look around. He was in the Hospital Wing, and Al was on the bed next to him. He was sleeping peacefully, though, with nothing but a blood replenishing potion next to him. Scorpius smiled to himself and leaned back on the pillow to rest some more and remember the previous night as best he could.

It wasn’t much longer before the door opened and Madam Boot entered, followed by Mr Potter. Madam Boot checked on Al briefly and, seeing him still asleep, shifted to Scorpius. Mr Potter leaned down to shake Scorpius’s hand.

‘Thank you, Scorpius, for what you did last night. If you hadn’t been so brave, I don’t know what would have happened.’

‘It was nothing,’ Scorpius said as Madam Boot directed a quick spell at his elbow. Evidently his setting job hadn’t been quite perfect.

‘Nothing?’ Mr Potter clarified, one eyebrow raised. ‘You went after them when you knew Al was gone, and you continued to chase even though you would have to endure a transformation. Not only that, but you immediately recognized the danger the potion posed to you all and encouraged your friends to get out quickly. Rose, Liza, and Jason Nott all said that they weren’t sure why you were so insistent on leaving but it was something about the potion. And to cap off this remarkable list, you leapt into someone pointing their wand at you – simultaneously alerting us to where you were and preventing Miss Lestrange from harming anyone else.’

Scorpius felt his face heat up – it must have been bright red by the end of the praise. ‘Really, sir – er, Mr Potter,’ he insisted. ‘I just did what I thought I needed to do.’

‘That’s what I thought when I was your age,’ Mr Potter smiled. ‘Tell me – do you still think the Hat mis-sorted you?’ Scorpius hadn’t been expecting that one – how did he know? ‘I thought the same thing once, I thought I should have been in Slytherin. I hope this has helped you understand a little more about yourself.’

Scorpius truly had no idea how to respond to that and was saved by Al stirring and waking up. Mr Potter shifted to Al’s bed and Scorpius was left with his thoughts.


	23. Twenty Three: Coda

Scorpius and Al were released from the Hospital Wing the following day, so during their morning free period they got the full story from Rose and Liza.

Evidently, there were Aurors in Hogsmeade the previous Tuesday on reports that there were Death Eaters in the area. The Death Eaters were waiting for Rachael to finish her job and meet them; instead they were all captured by Aurors. And then, when Scorpius didn’t meet Madam Boot she checked in Gryffindor Tower to find that both he and Al were missing. She immediately alerted Headmistress McGonagall who contacted the Aurors. Since they were so close, they were able to get to the castle quickly and arrived at the dungeon in time to prevent the potion from causing any damage but Rachael, after stunning Scorpius, had managed to slip away. There were a few Aurors still looking for her in the castle, but the rest had left to take the Death Eaters to Azkaban.

Scorpius was surprised at all that had happened – it seemed like something that would have happened when his parents were at school. His surprises weren’t over for the day yet, though.

Scorpius ate a quick lunch and went up to his dorm to enjoy the quiet and relax during his break. As he walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts that afternoon, he noticed that people were still pointing and whispering. He sighed – did people really still think that he wanted to be a Death Eater?

He was about to step into a rarely-used shortcut to avoid a group of Hufflepuffs when a shy girl he recognised from Charms came up to him.

‘I think you’re really brave,’ she said quickly, blushing and moving back to the group.

‘Er, thanks?’ Scorpius called after her, entirely confused as to why she would think that. He took the shortcut and got to the classroom where his friends were waiting for him. Before any of them could say anything, though, a group of Ravenclaws including Dominique Weasley walked by. Dominique waved as a bold friend of hers walked up to Scorpius.

‘I’ve always wondered,’ she started. ‘What’s it like transforming into a wolf?’

‘Erm, well, it hurts. You’re being forced into another shape,’ Scorpius said, not quite prepared for that question. It appeased the Ravenclaw, though, and she looked pensive as she walked away. Scorpius turned to his friends, confused.

‘They caught Rachael this afternoon in the Entrance Hall,’ Rose explained. ‘It was during lunch, so when she yelled that they should be taking you away too–’

‘Evidently you’re a dangerous rabid werewolf,’ Al added helpfully.

‘The whole school heard,’ Liza finished.

‘Oh,’ Scorpius replied. He briefly wondered if he should be concerned before putting it out of his mind. It was a fact of his life now – if anyone didn’t like that then they could just not talk to him.

It seemed, however, that the vast majority of the school simply didn’t care. He for a few strange looks and the odd question (‘Where did you get bit?’ ‘What happens if you take Wolfsbane and still want to bite someone?’) but it wasn’t too different than before everyone found out.

Exams came along and Scorpius did well enough to pass everything – even Charms where Professor Turpin tended to make him so nervous that he couldn’t concentrate on his spellwork. The school got a few days to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather before outside before it was time to take the train home.

The four friends sat with Edward, Jake, and Aiden. Edward was determined to beat Al at chess before the year was out and in his opinion that wasn’t until the train arrived in London. The food trolley came and went before that goal was finally realised.

‘Checkmate!’ Edward cheered, doing a victory dance as there was a knock on the door. Since he was already standing, Edward opened the door to reveal Jason standing there, looking timid. The atmosphere tensed slightly, as most of the car didn’t really know him.

‘Would it be ok if I joined you?’ he asked shyly.

‘Of course.’ Scorpius gestured him in and made room on the seat next to him, introducing Jason to the others.

‘So,’ Jason started. ‘It’s been an interesting year, no?’

The tension dissolved as everyone thought about all that had happened in the year.

‘Just wait till next year,’ Edward said. ‘We get to try out for Quidditch!’

‘I hope tryouts aren’t on a full moon,’ Scorpius added.

Liza surprised everyone by asking, ‘Where should I get a broom from?’

The compartment was silent for a moment before Al let out a triumphant whoop. ‘I knew we’d convert you eventually,’ he crowed, laughing. For the rest of the ride they all discusses Quidditch and their prospects at making their House teams.

Sooner than anyone was ready, the train was slowing and they changed into Muggle clothes. The Potters and Weasleys stood near the gateway of the platform, and Scorpius’s parents were standing with them. Alex ran to Scorpius and hugged him first, greeting him with an account of all that they’d done while he was gone. Scorpius greeted his parents before saying hello to the Potters and Weasleys as well.

‘Let me know when you get home,’ Al demanded. ‘We haven’t been able to go flying together since Easter!’

Scorpius looked at his family. His mum was playing with Lily, his dad talked with Al and Rose’s dads, and Alex was talking Quidditch with James and Hugo. Scorpius smiled and looked back to Al.

‘For your pants.’

FIN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed :]


	24. For Your Reference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here are Scorpius's class schedule and the family tree for my characters, in case you want to refer back to it at any point during the story.

Scorpius's Class Schedule:

 

Families:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Once the story is fully posted, this will be moved so that it's the last chapter in the fic.)

**Author's Note:**

> I has a [tumblr](http://ayrabelle.tumblr.com/).


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